Ars Amatoria: Kat Manx and Doggie Cruger
by Miss-Nami-Shiawase
Summary: Response to Ars Amatoria challenge: 40 oneshots about Kat and Doggie, with various relationship paradigms and situations. These two were so underwritten I had to take this on! Enjoy and review! Most of them are pretty light; I'm not big on angst and drama, though there are a few in here.
1. Album

_Album_

_Earth: February 24, 2001, 1800 hours_

Doggie stands by Kat for a picture taken by Danny. They were put up to this, he remembers, looking at a younger him, hovering awkwardly by Kat's side. Kat looks lovely, though it's different to see her hair less curly than it is now. He remembers being glad Danny took the photo, though; Kat is wearing a red dress that looks simply divine on her.

_Earth: June 26, 2010, 1600 hours_

Kat stands with Doggie in the newly installed zords bay. She remembers how grumpy he was at the initial idea for it but he lightened up when he saw what she had done with the place. That was also the day she discovered the joy of a yellow popsicle, half of which she is holding in the picture—it matches her yellow tank top.

_Earth: September 3, 2025, 1100 hours_

A commemorative photo to mark the beginning of B–Squad, when Jack and Z were first brought in. No one seems particularly happy in this photo.

_Earth: October 31, 2025, 1900 hours_

Syd demanded they take a picture with costumes on. After a month of getting more used to each other things seem more at ease. Syd is dressed as a fairy, while Sky stands beside her sternly dressed up in his cadet uniform (creative). Bridge is either Peter Pan or a very low–budget Robin Hood. Z and Jack, a little unfamiliar with the tradition, are more or less dressed as each other; Z wears oversized red clothes while Jack has his hair in a ponytail, wearing all yellow. Kat took this picture; Doggie refused to indulge their "silliness" in any way.

_Earth: November 11, 2025, 11:11 hours_

Boom took this picture, in honor of the SPD officers who fell during past wars. Kat made sure to include the honoring of Commander Cruger's rank of active officer in the ceremony, for which everyone paid their respects. They also set off paper cranes for the victims of the Troobian forces. Cruger sent one off for Isinia. Kat sent one off for her husband and unborn son.

_Earth: December 24, 2025, 2000 hours_

Syd overdid it on the Christmas spirit, though she managed to squeeze some out for Hanukkah, alleviating her crushing aura of cheer. She has them all gather around the tree she erected and everyone is actually pretty happy. Even Cruger smiles a little bit. This might be because Kat has her arm hooked through his, leaning on him heavily so he'll smile "just a little".

_Earth: December 25, 2025, 1700 hours_

Kat managed to make them a beautiful Christmas/Hanukkah dinner, despite the fact that all Cruger could find in the fridge was a box of baking soda, half a loaf of bread, what could have been part of a chicken once, and a banana. The table is beautiful, and Kat's smile is even more so.

_Earth: December 25, 2025, 2200 hours_

Boom took this one of Cruger and Kat under the mistletoe. While Cruger tries to object, saying that Kat doesn't have to do anything she didn't want to, she is already leaning up to kiss him gently. He demanded the photo from Boom, but didn't destroy it like you would think.

_Earth: January 1, 2026, 0000 hours_

Kat grabs Cruger's collar and crushes his lips against hers—he does not complain.

_Earth: April 4, 2026, 1100 hours_

A kind of after photo for B–Squad. Jack stands to the side with Cruger and Kat. Sky wears red well, with Bridge in Green. Z and Syd proudly reclaim their usual colors. They smile.


	2. Beautiful

_Beautiful_

"Cadets, what is this?" Sky asks the younger cadets sternly.

"Nothing, Cadet Tate," one, particularly pimply, cadet stands, urged by his friends.

"Cadet Johnson, what is this?" Sky repeats, firmer.

"It's a betting pool, sir," the cadet replies in a tiny, crackling voice.

"SPD has strict rules on gambling, cadet, especially on base."

"It's not gambling, uh, sir," the squeaky cadet protests. "It's just a bet on who we think is the prettiest girl on base!"

Sky frowns even deeper – so deep his mouth might fall off his face – and glares at the young newbs. "You are kidding—this is a blatant abuse of the system and just plain disrespect to your fellow officers. This stops NOW!"

"Yes, sir!" the cadets scurry off like frightened mice.

Sky picks up the cards with tally points with disgust, but flips through them nonetheless. Most names he doesn't really recognize. He remembers Cadet Middler, who wears her uniform a size too small on purpose. He also sees Z and Syd's tallies but refuses to look, out of embarrassment and respect. Finally he comes to one that is...alarming.

"Commander Cruger," Sky reports.

"Yes, Cadet Tate," Doggie turns.

"I thought you should see this, sir," Sky nods to the tally cards. "I found some cadets with them earlier. They said there was a betting poll of who the most attractive female on base was."

"Why would this concern me, Cadet? If I can't persecute it as gambling it's of no concern," Doggie notices Sky's determination and takes the cards anyway. On the top, is a tally card completely covered, titled "Dr. Manx". His expression freezes, then thaws out with hot rage in a moment. His dark eyes turn on Sky. "Who were they?"

"Cadets Johnson, Tailor and Mendel, sir," Sky reports dutifully.

"Thank you, Cadet Tate, good work on this," Cruger takes his angry leave. It takes him no time to smell out the hormonal teens. "Cadets!"

"Yes, sir!" They respond, trying to sound solid but their voice cracks creating a barbershop quartet of "the puberty squad" (as the other cadets call them).

"What is this?" Cruger growls at them, holding up only Kat's tally. They open their mouths but they're too slow. "Don't answer that! If you decide to risk this disrespectful impropriety on my base that's a matter of your own stupidity, but _this_ is overstepping a line! She is your superior office, a respected member of SPD, and not some chunk of meat to be admired like an object!"

Cruger lets their other cards fly, several landing at the feet of the female cadets in the area. Their anger turns solely on the young cadets scrambling to hide them. Cruger just chuckles a little, "I believe those are yours, cadets."

When Cruger leaves he is still chuckling, hearing the terrified, girly screams of the young cadets being attacked by angry females. He passes their usual lounge, in which Syd and Z seem more flattered at their own scores than anything. Finally, he reaches Kat's lab. "Morning, Dr. Manx."

"Morning, Commander," she smiles back at him. "What's up, Doggie, you only call me that when something's wrong."

"It seems the young cadets think that it's fine to take a poll on who the most attractive female on base is," Kat looks at him oddly, waiting for him to get to the point that has really upset him, "and you're the winner."

"What?" Kat frowns in confusion and takes the card Cruger holds. It's covered in different colored pen marks. "This can't be right, I'm—"

"Their superior officer and our head engineer and technician, but apparently, still fair game for this," Cruger also frowns.

"Well, I guess it could be flattering, if it weren't so creepy—I'm about ten times their age!" Kat shudders, throwing the card into her special garbage incinerator.

"Not that I'm surprised you'd win, but it doesn't make me feel any better about it." Cruger's arms are folded and he shakes his head widely. "I thought I had them better controlled than this."

"You can't blame yourself, Doggie, they're young boys, in heat," Kat chuckles at her friend's unrest. Then she realizes something as he's almost out the door, "wait, you're not surprised—"

"Of course not, you're beautiful!" Cruger shouts back at her as he turns the corner.


	3. Closer

_Closer_

Kat and Cruger dancing is always a sight to behold. It is sophisticated, classy, refined, and nothing short of impeccable. The movements are graceful (Kat) and structured (Doggie). Yet, if you look at their eyes when they dance, there's always something more in them. Their eyes dance with them, sparkling with something intangible. It's something that has yet to be named, but as he draws her closer, it light up the room.

"You are a magnificent dancer, Katherine," Doggie rumbles lowly to her as he swings her willowy body around and back.

"Thank you, Doggie, you're equally," she's gripped in his arms by the spin, allowing her to simply turn her head and hover by his muzzle, dangerously, "magnificent."

The music comes a close and they reluctantly part ways, though their bodies scream against the action. He bows and she curtsies; the audience claps at the tasteful display. They head to the sidelines, eyes locked. Anything between the gazes spontaneously combusts amidst the sparks and electricity flying. They sit, eyes locked.

"Why don't we do this more often, again?" Kat asks, eyes trained on the Sirian opposite.

Doggie looks into Kat's eyes, intent with slitted pupils on him. "Name the last night we got off."

"Oh, yeah," she frowns, breaking the gaze to rake her claws through her straightened hair.

Doggie reaches a paw over and combs the straightened strands as well. It's a good look for her, though he doesn't care about her looks. "Your hair looks great, Kat, not that it doesn't always."

"Thank you," she smiles shyly, playing with the ends. Syd decided to experiment wit her new straightener and Kat was her test subject. Experiment deemed success! "And thank you, Doggie, for tonight."

"Kat, I'm only too delighted. I only wish I didn't have to wait this long to take you on a proper date," he tilts his great, blue head at her. He takes her hands in his paws. The size difference is significant, but it gives him a nice feeling. It makes him feel like he can protect her.

"You are too good to me," she leans in and kisses him. She loves this feeling: she loves feeling like a regular couple, on a regular date. There are no worries about security tonight; there are no threats of Troobians or remaining destruction of homes. There is only her, and Doggie.

"No one could ever be good enough, my darling," he breathes into her before a kiss.

Her hand goes to his muzzle as she deepens the kiss just a little; "you old romantic."

"The dance floor is open again," he nods to it. Standing, with a paw, "shall we?"

"Certainly, sir," she smiles at him. She lets him lead her back to the dance floor, hand in his paw. She moves with grace beyond compare and takes the position. She fits herself a breath away from him.

Doggie pulls her closer, fitting her slight frame against his like peanut–butter to jelly in a sandwich. He can hear men whispering about "the gorgeous brunette with the dog–thing". Glaring at them deters them from ogling his mate's delicious form too long. "You're too..."

Kat tilts her head and keeps looking at him as the music begins. The two move automatically but she keeps her gaze on him, oblivious to her multiple admirers.

"Too...beautiful," Doggie pulls her closer again, possessively.

"Sorry, my bad," she smiles as they continue. The dance flows freely and she takes advantage of every opportunity to go to his form like a magnet, "closer, Doggie."


	4. Color

_Color_

"Kat, pu–leaze!—let me take you shopping!" Syd begs, tugging on the arm of Kat's lab coat. Kat has done an excellent job of ignoring her, but the blond is adamant on this. "The most color I've ever seen you wear is dark blue—please, please, please!"

"Sydney, this is pointless, my wardrobe is fine, and none of your business, for that matter," Kat raises an eyebrow at Syd, somewhat playful but meaning to be stern.

"But, KAT!" Syd pulls away and puts on the most dramatic face she can. "You NEED more color! A palate like yours needs to be brought out! Deep, rich tones, they're so you! You need to give up this whole grey and beige thing, please!" Syd does an agitated little dance before lighting up. "Let me at least show you."

"What would that entail?" Kat frowns at the girl. She adores Syd and the rest of the rangers like her children. However, she never fails to get a bad feeling when Syd looks like this.

"Just, come with me," Syd takes Kat's hand and leads her slowly. "You are so pretty, Kat, you simply must take advantage of it. While I won't deny that black and white works for everyone, you, my dear, need to spice up your look. You have these perfectly green eyes and flawless skin. Your hair means you should stay away from browns unless accentuated with turquoise. Your skin type, though, means you really can do anything but I'd stay away from pastels, they could drown you out. Rich tones, in any spectrum will do you wonders. Earthy tones are a perfect start, since they'll still be subtle, but enhance."

Kat, listening to Sydney's garble, realizes she has been led to Syd's room. She sits on the bed, in a daze after the bombardment of information. "This is a little much, don't you think?"

"Here we go!" Syd pulls out a conservative, deep green dress with long sleeves and a v–neck. "Put this on, with your boots, and see the magic!"

Kat isn't allowed to protest as she's shoved behind Syd's changing screen. A little hesitantly she changes and steps out, fidgeting with the hem, which comes a couple of inches above her knees. "It's a little short, Syd."

"You're, like, five foot eleven, Kat, it's gonna be shorter on you than on me," Syd emphasizes with a shake of her head. "Still, don't you see how beautiful this looks on you?"

"I guess," Kat frowns at herself in Syd's mirror.

"Not sure? I thought you might still try to deny it—come with me!" Syd grabs Kat's wrist and practically runs to Commander Cruger's office.

"Sydney, slow down!" Kat urges, still gripping the bottom of the dress. She's about to dig her heels into the ground when the doors to Cruger's office swish open.

"Commander Cruger—Commander Cruger, don't you think Kat looks nice?" Syd gestures to Kat, who blushes under the scrutiny. It only brings her beauty out more, complimented perfectly by the saturated forest green of the dress.

"I'm sorry, Doggie, I—this—Syd," Kat fidgets nervously in front of her boss and old friend. The dress is still a little short for her – rather conservative – tastes, but she has to be professional, after all.

"She looks radial Cadet Drew, but why did you need me to see it?" Cruger tilts his head.

Syd stands stunned at how liberally Cruger's compliment came. Kat stands by her side, blushing more intensely but no longer fidgeting. Syd grins widely, "thank you, Commander! See, Kat?—I told you! Colors do wonders for you, now let's go shopping!"

Cruger chuckles as Syd drags out Kat, who tries to grab the doorframe a second too late.


	5. Confidence

_Confidence_

The proper word is confidence, but the only truly fitting adjective that comes to mind in this situation is "swagger". Kat Manx is a woman who doesn't lack confidence, since her accomplishments and general awesomeness assure her of her abilities. She's not overconfident, mind you, but her confidence inspires respect for her in others.

Today, though, she swaggers. She swags her way down the halls and into her lab, smirking all the way. Her loose, chestnut curls fly around her face beautifully as she whips around base, lab coat flowing out behind her. The smile/smirk on her face is captivating. Her air of confidence, more fittingly described by Bridge, Z and Syd as "swagger" is nothing short of alluring. Something has put an extra bounce in her step; it makes her hips sway a little more sexily than normal and her eyes to stand out as more daring.

"Hey, Kat," Z greets with a sassily raised eyebrow, "what's got you all hotsy–totsy?"

"What're you talking about, Z?—I'm the same today as I am every day," Kat shrugs innocently, smirk becoming even more out of place.

"Really?—'cause I believe the number one reason for a girl to shake her hips like that is for a man?" Z's gaze is met by a similar, more defiant gaze from Kat. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the Commander, would it?"

"Watch what you say, Elizabeth, a cat might just get your tongue," Kat quips smartly.

"Oh my gosh, it is about Commander Cruger," Syd joins in, noting the swag in Kat. "Are you finally going to ask him out? Or is he going to ask you out? Did he ask you out?"

"You girls are asking for trouble, and my personal life is none of your concern," Kat wags a clawed finger at them playfully. As she rounds the corner she runs into the reason for her confidence. "Good morning, handsome."

"Good morning, Dr. Manx," the voice is gruff, deep and rumbling, and very familiar.

Syd and Z cover each other's mouths just out of sight to keep them from being noticed.

"Well, it was a pretty good morning until _someone_ woke me up with his big, wet tongue."

Syd's eyes bulge almost out of her skull.

"Last I checked you weren't exactly complaining in bed, or in the shower, or the kitchen."

Z bites her tongue to keep from gasping and gagging.

"I'm not complaining, I'm just saying, a little more heads up would be nice next time."

"Well, how about a heads up now: my office, five minutes."

Syd and Z go back to their seats in the common room, eyes wide, in shock.

"Hey, you guys figure out what's up with Kat? She's all 'damn, guurrl, you actin' cray–cray'!" Bridge attempts to mimic a comedian he saw on television. When he notices his comrades are still mute he shrugs. "Maybe Commander Cruger will know."

"NO!"

"What?!" Bridge asks, alarmed as to why they both belted their protest.

"Don't go up there, Bridge," Syd warns, deadly serious, "you don't know what's there."

"You won't make it back," Z whispers, also speaking gravely.

"You guys are exaggerating."

An hour later, when Sky and Jack come back from sparring, Z, Syd and Bridge are all laid out in beanie chairs, partially upside down. Their eyes are blank. "Guys?"

"Don't go to Cruger's office...or Kat's kitchenette...or the private bathrooms..."

"You won't make it back," Bridge whispers.


	6. Dare

_Dare_

It started with a dare: Bridge was dared to kiss Kat on the cheek. A simple enough action, dangerous enough to bring out terror and humiliating enough as to manipulate his mild crush on her. Things are simple enough—he might be able to do this and live...?

"Hey, Kat," Bridge starts nervously.

"Hi, Bridge," Kat greets with a kind smile.

"So, um, what'cha doin'?" the green ranger asks while edging into the lab. He hugs the wall, ready to defend himself should he need to.

"Just working on keeping the morphers in tune," she replies in a suspicious tone.

"Aw, you see?—th–that...there...you're always doing so much for us, Kat!" Bridge launches himself at her, glad her instincts only go so far as to bring her claws out but not strike him. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her bespeckled cheek.

Kat blushes at the affection, unused to it in general, let alone from her rangers. "Bridge?"

"CADET CARSON!"

Bridge lets go of Kat so quickly she stumbles a bit. "Ahh—Commander!—Commander Cruger, I can explain!"

"I should hope you can explain the impropriety occurring between you and my head technician!" Cruger's fangs are bared and his barking becomes a little more menacing as he emphasizes that she is _his _(head technician).

"Well, I... " Bridge fidgets nervously, sure that Commander Cruger is ready to eat him for the liberty he has taken with Kat.

"NOW!"

"We were playing truth or dare and I was dared to kiss Kat on the cheek!" Bridge rushes out, holding his hands out to protect his face and beg for mercy. "I promise, I wasn't trying to get between you or anything!"

"Dr. Manx is a very busy woman and I thought you would respect her enough to leave her out of your childish games!" Cruger circles around Bridge until he stands between a slightly amused Kat and an entirely terrified cadet.

"We do, of course we do, Commander! I'm really, really, sorry! I swear, I'd never consider this if it weren't for the others! It was their idea!—I was just a pawn in their fiendish mind games!" Bridge is now on his knees. "I beg of you, Commander, please, don't eat me!"

"That is disgusting, Cadet Carson, now get up!" Cruger barks. "You will return to the rest of B–Squad, you will tell them of what has happened, and you will all apologize to Miss Manx, properly. You will never involve her in your scheming again and so help me, Sirius, you will never _touch_ her again or I will eat each and every one of you with a side of garden salad!"

Bridge only looks at Cruger's dark maw for a second before sprinting away, scarred.

"Now, don't you think that was a little much?" Kat asks, though her smirk says that she is actually amused, touched, and a little flattered at his protectiveness. "Stubborn, old, dog... "

"They should know better—hell, they should be more respectful of you, not only of your seniority, or your rank, but the fact that...grrrrr!" Cruger growls to himself, thoroughly unsettled.

"Oh, Doggie, they're just having some fun, no harm came, it's fine," she tries to assuage his anger but it's not doing the trick. "Besides, that's the first kiss I've gotten in years."

Before she can think he has given her (untainted) cheek a quick peck with the lips of his muzzle and is out the door. "There, now they can leave you alone."


	7. Darkness

_Darkness_

Kat loves the dark. She loves the shelter it offers her, since she's never truly blind in the dark. In pitch black she has a little more trouble, but she can see better than night vision goggles, realistically. Thus, she does her night base checks in the dark.

She walks the base like a true feline, stealthy and unperceived. If she wore boots earlier that day she trades them in for silent flats. At this time, she walks more on the balls of her feet, offering her stealth and a good reflexive position. The cadets, if there are any sneaking around the base, never know she's coming.

"Cadet," her voice comes from the shadows, avoiding the light of the lounge refrigerator.

"Ah," the cadet jerks up, hitting his head on the shelf. His arms hold cheese, sausage and some leftover pasta. "Um...Dr. Manx, are you there?"

"Yes, but you should not be. Back to your quarters, Cadet, immediately," Kat warns, turning on her heel and pausing, "and leave the food."

"Yes, ma'am," the cadet stumbles his way back to the institutionally lit corridor.

"You do enjoy that, don't you?"

Kat smiles in the dark at her old friend. His ears and nose get him around. Plus, he can feel around with his scales as much as she can with her fur or humans can with their skin. He's more or less blind, but it just leaves her more time to admire him. He looks straight ahead, somewhat creating the illusion that he can see. She knows better, though. As she approaches him, he looks more towards her direction but he can't focus on her. "I'm here, Doggie."

In the dark, Doggie can feel a gentle hand reach at his snout. The palm is smooth, the tips of the claws are slight, and the moisturizer is honey–mango. This hand to the muzzle has always brought him comfort in the most profound of ways. "Hello, Kat; lurking in the shadows again?"

"When else do I get to do this," she leans on her toes and kisses the lips of his muzzle sweetly, "out in the open?"

"True," he chuckles, taking her in his arms and kissing her further. The private moments are nice, but there's something about kissing Kat in the middle of the Command Center that's...liberating. "I can't always wait for my mate to be done working for the day, though."

Kat blushes in the dark, glad that Doggie can't see her uncomfortably heated face. He took to calling her his mate two weeks ago but it still makes her entire being tingle. Shyly, she nuzzles his chest a bit. "I love it when you call me that."

"I could call you other things," Cruger whispers a string of endearments into Kat's perked, pointed ear. Afterwards, he whispers a string of more...explicit words, synonymous with the Earth term "lover". "How about that?"

Kat fans her face embarrassedly, feeling as if she's flushed from head to toe. Some of the words, more Sirian than others, all make her heart leap dangerously. His various endearments are charming, combined with the all too alluring terms of...more physical affection: Doggie Cruger is one dangerous romantic specimen. Her heart thuds wildly, and a tingling heat shoots from top to bottom, pooling in her lower belly. "Maybe we should head somewhere more private."

Doggie takes this as acquiescence and sweeps her into his arms, kissing her passionately. Her lips are sweet and as her tongue peeks out shyly he takes the opportunity to capture it in his. His canine tongue allows him to do things no humanoid male can achieve. She makes sure to remind him of this as she moans his name through their lip–lock.

"Again?!" Boom takes off his night vision goggles and hits the lights, scaring the two. Kat, flushed, lips red and hair tousled, hides behind Doggie, who is calm. "Fourth time this week!"


	8. Dawn

_Dawn_

"Why do we have to run at dawn?" Syd moans dramatically, letting her arms flop around her limp body.

"It's good to get a healthy start to the day, Syd," Sky reminds patiently, stretching.

"Does it really have to be at the crack of dawn, though?" Z asks, yawning.

Jack sits on the curb, drifting in and out.

"Jack, come on," Z pats his shoulder, "the sooner we do this the sooner we go eat."

"Fine," the red ranger hauls himself up.

"All right, two miles, around the base, on the pave," Sky announces.

"It's four thirty in the frickin' morning, Sky!" Syd rants again.

"That's why I said only two now let's hustle!"

The rest of B–Squad reluctantly follows. They follow Sky sluggishly, jogging more than anything as Sky almost sprints ahead. A solid ten minutes and they're approaching the point where Syd is going to pick up a stick on the side of the road and beat Sky to death with it.

"Rangers, good morning!"

Bridge veers off to avoid the body of Commander Cruger, coming out of the bushes, and trips. As the green ranger rolls and picks himself up he salutes sloppily, wheezing, "Commander Cruger—what are you doing in the bushes, sir?"

Cruger just holds a finger to his muzzle to tell them to be silent. He walks with them for another five minutes before pulling the bushes back a bit. The rangers lean in and he closes the foliage behind them. "You're not the only ones taking advantage of the dawn."

Down the hill stands (a very flexible) Kat, doing yoga. She's in some pose, probably unachievable by the human skeletal system. Just on the grass, she seems absolutely serene, and completely still.

"She has come out here to do yoga at dawn for many decades, Cadets. I showed her this spot, actually. However, she gets paranoid about people finding it, so if she senses a disturbance,"

"Like Sky's rhino feat," Syd puts in, whispering, mystified with Kat's yoga and ignoring Sky's resentful glare.

"Exactly; she'd flee. I enjoy a good walk at dawn myself so I usually do a perimeter check. Sometimes she's in the right frame of mind to let me join her. Either way, I make sure her peace is not interrupted," Cruger looks at his rangers with a meaningful eyebrow raise. "Perhaps, if you should be running at future dawns, you might run elsewhere, or take a break around this point."

"Of course, sir," Jack nods before leading the team out of the bushes. "Not to worry, though, sir, I don't think we'll be running at dawn anymore."

Sky frowns but nods in acquiescence. "No, sir, we wouldn't want to disturb Dr. Manx."

"Good, now, back to base," Cruger nods a farewell to his rangers. "You can relax, Kat."

"Thank you," comes a voice so faint that only he can hear it, just he knows that only Kat would be able to hear them at the distance she was. "Would you like to join me today, Doggie?"

"Thank you, I think I will."


	9. Dependence

_Dependence_

A symbiotic relationship is that in which both parties depend on each other equally. These relationships are all over the universe, but if you want to see the best example of a symbiotic relationship, go to Earth base SPD command center.

Here at SPD command center, there is a symbiotic relationship between Commander Anubis Doggie Cruger and Doctor Katherine Manx. The two exist perfectly alongside each other. They are out of balance without the other by their side. These two beings exist in perfect synchronicity with each other.

Doggie will be working in his conferencing office. Kat will come in. She will bring him some food or a beverage, to keep him going, since he will or already has forgotten to eat. Similarly, he had Boom install an alarm on the console Kat uses in his office that tells her when it is lunch time. She tried to ignore it the first few times but if she does it blares a frequency that only she can hear. She was mad at him for four days afterwards but now it's just a normalcy.

While Kat is working in the lab, she is in her zone. It is her domain—her realm in which she rules all. That's the way Boom puts it, at least. Kat is the ultimate workaholic, often losing track of all sense of time. Thus, Doggie makes a point of calling her every two and a half hours for a "status update", if nothing else because it breaks up the days for her. On the other hand, Kat uses these calls as an excuse to remind him that by the eighth call, they should both be calling it a day. He agrees to. She will try to keep working, but he will show up at the lab to "walk her to her quarters".

Without each other, they kind of fall apart. They refuse to admit it, but they do. When Kat was sent to Supreme Command, Doggie quite literally did nothing but stare at her console and sigh. No one witnessed this but sometimes you just know. Similarly, Kat had never achieved the level of misery she achieved up there before. They need each other.

So, when Doggie ends up in the infirmary for a week for a broken bone, Kat doesn't know what to do with herself. After her 28th hour spent in the infirmary by his side Felix kicked her out. Now she's working in circles, doing the same maintenance checks over and over. Boom finally told her that he would take care of things if she would just take a quick nap. She was unable—they were filled with nightmares of destruction and catastrophe.

Now, she sits outside the infirmary, pitifully unable to do anything else. It's lonely in his office without him—breaks her concentration. There's nothing else to do in the lab, not that Boom will let her. Felix tried to send her away again but she pointed out that he has no control over the hall. So, now she sits in an uncomfortable plastic chair, biting at her immaculate claws.

"Not working?" a comfortingly familiar voice rings.

"Can't," she offers monosyllabically. Her eyes are tired, but still smile at him. "You shouldn't be on your leg yet."

"Felix underestimated my Sirian healing abilities; I should be up and about tomorrow," Cruger sits beside her. "What are you doing here?"

"Boom told me to take a break."

_I can't really work without you._

"I see."

_Me neither, really. _

"I'm glad you're feeling better," she touches his paw with her hand.

"Me too," he touches her hand with his paw.


	10. Distraction

_Distraction_

Kat's ears twitch a bit. This is nothing short of infuriating. She has been trying to perform the same calculation for fifteen minutes. The equation itself is child's play for her, something she didn't even do in her undergrad years, but there are...distractions, lurking around.

Her prime distraction at the moment is the looming presence of Commander Cruger. Normally, she can work with him side by side and function perfectly. Now, though, there's a scent on him that has her out of her mind. It's not his usual, deep, earthy, musky, sexy...what were we...oh yes!—Commander Cruger smells different today. His scent must be emitting more pheramones, because, even from just a biomedical standpoint, she's at his mercy. The scent surrounding her – more enveloping her in a warm hug – is a deep, rustic scent, cutting her to the core. It makes her mouth water. Whenever she looks at him her eyes dilate and she has come close to drooling a few times. She doesn't get what's going on, but when her mind clouds over with a warm haze she can't bring herself to care.

"Doggie," she speaks up, a little timidly.

"What is it, Kat?" he turns.

"Are you, um..." Kat tries to get a hold of herself but his scent is messing with her head again and she can't even focus enough to get the sentence together. "I mean, have you... "

"Kat, is everything all right?" Cruger leans in closer to his friend. Her eyes are large and misty, face flushed. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Mm," Kat licks her lips and swallows thickly, trying to force herself not to jump on him. "Do you smell something musky?"

"Musky?" Cruger doesn't have to lift his nose at all to smell the air but all he can smell is the sweet smell of Kat. He can catch a whiff of her pheramones, but they're nothing he can't handle. "I don't think so, why?"

"No reason," she squeaks out, flushing deeper and feeling the need to fan her face. "I, um, I think I'm gonna step out for a minute."

"Kat, I think you should sit down," Doggie guides her form to a chair before she can protest, holding her around the shoulders gingerly. "I don't think you're well, Kat."

"I, um..." Kat rolls her lips and looks deep into his eyes. A motor deep down in her starts up with a fury. Her pupils become large and she clears her throat. "I find you _incredibly_ distracting."

"Well, sometimes, we all need a _distraction_ when we're working too hard."

Boom comes into the lab to find clothes thrown about. His immediate reaction is alarm and a surge of brotherly need to protect Kat. "Kat?!—Kat!—tell me this isn't what it looks like!"

"Oh, hi, Boom!" Kat rushes, pulling her lab coat tighter around her (she's naked underneath but Boom doesn't need to know that). "I was just kind of, uh, distracted, and the Commander came by to help me, um, focus!"

Boom doesn't know what to make of the situation. He is stuck between eyeing Kat's notably bare calves and feet and her hair's state of disarray. There's a wide hickey on the side of her speckled neck and her lips are slightly swollen. He decides on simply nodding and leaving to wash out his eyes with soap.

Kat sighs as Boom leaves and looks over her shoulder, "I think we scarred him."

"Maybe, but tell me you don't feel better," Cruger rumbles as he kisses her neck.

Kat purrs into him: "Mm, oh, I've never been so glad to be distracted."


	11. Dream

_Dream_

Cruger lays his jacket over Kat, who fell asleep at the console while he went for coffee. They have been working together for hours on the problems with the quantum phasers. Kat has been fighting sleep for most of those hours – she probably didn't sleep the previous night – he can tell.

"Mm," she moans in her sleep, moving her head.

He smiles at how cute she is when she sleeps and goes back to working. He'll finish this report before taking her back to her quart—

"Doggie," she moans, a little more...suggestively.

Cruger's ears perk and he looks at her cautiously. "Kat?"

"Oh...Doggie..." Kat continues. She lets out a loud, guttural, throaty purring. "I...oh, yeah...so good... "

Doggie becomes increasingly hot under his collar at the noises coming from his old friend. Heat comes to his cheeks though it's unseen under his thick scales. He tries to calm himself, keep his blood from running rampant, but this is Kat.

"Doggie," she whimpers a bit. "Please...Earth Gods yes!"

"Kat!" Cruger shouts, unable to hear any more.

"Hm?" Kat wakes up startled. "What is it?—what's wrong?"

"You were, ah, dreaming, I think," Cruger clears his throat, embarrassed.

Realization dawns on Kat's face, immediately followed by mortification. "Oh...no...oh, Earth Gods no..." she chants. After a moment she uncovers her bright red face with her hand. She doesn't look at him. "I–I'm so sorry, Doggie. I've, uh, been having these...dreams...for a couple days now. I was, um, trying not to fall asleep, so... "

"Not to worry, Kat," Cruger replies, also not looking at her. A couple of awful, gut wrenching moments of awkward silence pass. "Is it always me?"

"What?" she snaps out of her haze of humiliation.

"Is it always me, in the dream?" he gives her a merciful smile.

"Yes," she says as quietly as possibly, looking to her lap.

"What happens in these dreams?" he continues, wheeling his chair a little closer.

"Well, sometimes we're dating, sometimes we're just working, sometimes it just...starts," Kat fiddles with her close nervously, heart beating wildly inside her chest.

"I'd hope I could be at least...romantic," he breathes into her ear.

Kat becomes all _too_ aware of his proximity, still hyped on the remnants of her dream. "Oh, you're..." she gulps and licks her lips, "quite the charmer."

"I would hope I had the sense court a lady of your," Cruger trails the tip of his tongue along the ridge of her ear, "caliber."

"Oh, Doggie," Kat begins to moan and purr.

"Kat!"

Kat's head snaps up from the console as Doggie enters the room. "Doggie, what...did you just come in?" she asks, face flushed, eyes guilty.

"Yes, why?" he frowns, setting her coffee down.

"No reason," she rushes, grabbing the coffee and downing it. "Now, what can we do...?"

"I've been looking at this too," Cruger begins talking and gesturing with his paw.

Kat forces her eyes forward, trying not to let the Sirian to her right affect her too much.


	12. Duty

_Duty_

Commander Cruger earned his rank through hard work and serving the galaxy. He takes the honor of this rank and his duty to the masses very seriously. There are responsibilities to his branch, to SPD, to the planet, to the rangers. Most of all, though, he takes his unofficial job the most seriously: his job as protector of Katherine Manx.

She doesn't always appreciate it, when he gets overprotective, though he's usually pretty good at letting her be. It is endearing, how caring he is, and she wouldn't have him any other way. She loves him just the way he is...just don't tell anyone, or they could get in big trouble. That's the excuse they use not to tell each other, that is.

Cruger takes his duty very seriously. His duty to his rangers is to fight alongside them, not protect them. There might be an occasion on which they need his help but they are comrades. His duty his branch and SPD go with him being a Commander, and damn good one at that. He puts up with Fowler Birdy on a fairly regular basis, how much better a person can you ask for? His duty to the planet entails him being Shadow Ranger, sworn to protect the galaxy.

Cruger's duty as Kat's protector is more subtle, but an all consuming job for him. Whether it's having a button installed in her office that alerts him to trouble (which she hated, by the way) or fighting off a hundred krybots, he will protect her. He will protect her at the cost of his life because the thought of her being hurt is too much for him—he'd rather die. Anybody who dares to try and lay a hand on Katherine will go through him.

"Doggie, I'm okay, really, I promise," Kat says to him for the third time, standing outside her quarters stubbornly. "I just got up for a glass of milk, I'm fine."

"You're shaking, Kat, you're not fine," Cruger protests. "There's nothing wrong with having some aftershock fear from today."

"It's not fear...it's not fear for me." She finishes quietly. "It's fear for you."

"For me?" he frowns deeply, not wanting Kat to be worrying about him at a time like this.

"I keep dreaming...that you didn't beat those krybots...that there were too many, and..." Kat presses the back of her hand to her lips to keep from making a sound.

Cruger silently takes her into his arms and lets her cry. He knows that she wants to stay strong but she is solidarity itself, he is the rock she can lean on when her own strength is just too heavy for her.

"I don't know what I would do if you..." Kat breaks off into more sobs, buried in the warmth of his strong chest.

"I'm here, Kat. I swear, no one will hurt you again," Cruger says gently. Inside he is still raging, raging at himself for letting her get captured in the first place and raging at everyone else who tried to hurt her. "No one will hurt you."

If there is one duty of Commander Anubis Cruger's that he takes seriously, it's his role as guardian and protector of Katherine Manx. He is her guard dog, and he takes care of her the way one can only take care of someone they love with all their heart. This is duty.


	13. Fight

_Fight_

"Been a while, hasn't it?" Kat asks him with a smirk.

"I guess," Doggie returns. "What made you suddenly decide to do this, anyway?"

"Honestly?" she pauses and he nods for her to continue. "I wanted to make sure I hadn't lost it. While I was fighting Mooney and those krybots I went down...I think I'm rusty."

"You're the only person I know who beats a troupe of krybots and thinks they're rusty," Doggie chuckles to hide his frowning. He's still shocked that she has a morpher, and while he is glad she has it just in case, it also means she's in a position to be endangered. Suddenly he's looking at her differently. He wonders if she looked at him differently when he became a ranger (but he doubts it). He looks at her differently because she's the Kat (Cat?) Ranger, now, whether she thinks so or not, and she could be killed for it.

"We gonna talk, or fight?" Kat taunts as she saunters onto the field. Cruger follows her reluctantly. "You've never gone easy on me before... "

"I won't start now," he assures her. He has never really had to, since anything he throws at her is blocked and turned. His fighting style is Sirian martial with the training from the academy to fortify maneuvers. Her style, though seldom demonstrated, is Felin naturalist, using movements based on instinctual reaction and different species' habits combined with academy training. He has never had to go easy on her.

Cruger tilts his ears forward and nods, a signal of respect in his style.

Kat folds her ears against her hair and crosses her arms in front of her, claws bared.

They both salute to each other as SPD, heels together, toes out, elbow to the right.

Cruger waits for Kat, since he knows his attacks will be blocked. She waits for him; she always waits for him, because that's her style, to wait for as long as you have to. He always attacks first anyway, because that's his style. So, he does: he goes in with a simple one–two jab which she deflects with flattened hands, using his velocity to send him away and turning her body out slightly on impact to prevent recoil. "And you thought you were rusty."

Kat smiles at him before jumping at him. She feels his arms go up so she grabs them and flips herself over. Her weight is nowhere near enough to flip him but the velocity makes him stumble. That's all she needs as she bends to her haunches, basically throwing him over her. She's strong, especially given her slender form. Still, she knows that she's not strong enough to force her old friend in the least. Thus, she uses physics. "Still getting flipped by me?"

"You never failed," Cruger puffs before flipping himself up and around. He catches Kat watching him with a look of impressment and vague confidence. "That being said, we might have hit a rut in our fighting."

Kat, still reeling from Cruger's always impressive physical prowess, chuckles. "How's this?"

Kat goes in low and Cruger grabs her, pinning her under him. His body hovers over hers, emitting warmth that is also cool—just how she remembers it. His muzzle hovers over her face. His eyes hit hers like arrows to bull's–eyes. He breathes on her skin, tickling it. "That it?"

"Not even close," Kat curls her legs up so tight there's room between his torso and hers for them. Her skeleton isn't built as human as it seems, and it bends in so easily it would be nothing for her to touch the tips of her ears with her toes. She kicks him up and off and pins him, though her body on top of his looks like a toothpick laid on top of a sub sandwich; "hi."

Cruger doesn't look at her differently now. He looks at her with love, "hi."


	14. Friends

_Friends_

Kat sits on the small cot alone. She's battered and bruised; her home was destroyed a matter of hours ago. Of her entire sector she is the only survivor. There could have been another survivor – her unborn child of thirteen weeks – but...

"Excuse me?"

Kat looks up, eyes still dilated with the aftershock of PTSD. The male, Sirian, blue and scaled, speaks Earth English. She answers in the same language: "hello?"

"Miss...I," the male begins. His canine face doesn't express much, but she manages to find remorse and sympathy in his expression. "I am truly sorry for what has happened."

Kat can only nod and curl up a little more. Approximately sixteen hours ago, Felis was destroyed; approximately twelve and a half hours ago, she miscarried and her thirteen week old kit perished. Now, she feels hollow, in the darkest, cruelest sense of the world. "Thank you...I am sorry about Sirius."

The Sirian nods his thanks and hovers a moment. He looks to her for permission to enters; he receives it. As he enters the room he tries to be as unimposing as he can with his large stature. "Miss Manx, I have been sent to ask about your plans in the immediate future."

Kat almost lets out a mordant laugh but holds it in. "Your commanders want to drop me off quickly," she says as more of a statement than a question.

"My apologies, they don't have the best tact in any given situation. I told them that you might not have any, but it might not buy you much time—I'm sorry. We never thought Grumm would reach this far."

"What's your name?" Kat asks suddenly, voice surprisingly solid.

"Anubis Cruger," says the Sirian. His face softens discernibly as he looks down at the delicate feline woman. "I am the one who found you in your sector, Miss."

"Call me Kat, Mister Cruger; I'm not a missus anymore so you might as well," her tone is flat and there's a detachment in her words that allows her to say them without breaking down.

"I am without mate currently as well, so, please, call me Doggie," he is kind as he says it, neither harsh nor judging.

Kat smiles up at the Sirian softly and sighs a little. "Thank you, for saving me. I've always admired SPD for their valiance. My hus...husband...always told me to apply for a job at Felis' base."

"What is your profession, if I may ask," Cruger asks gently. He rescued the woman from her home, though he remembers the scent of chemicals clinging to her vaguely.

"Biochemical engineer, technically. I got my degree from SPD academy, actually, but when I found out I was carrying..." Kat trails off, the ending being implied, plus, now, she's tired.

Cruger shifts a bit and it captures Kat's attention. "Kat, I can tell that you are strong, and tenacious, and worthy of admiration. I wish for you to take all the time you need to heal; this is a traumatic event to deal with and you should grieve. That being said, should you decide to pursue work for SPD I would like you to contact me. By all means, I will assist you in any way possible."

Kat considers Doggie's kindness and decides not to look a gifted Sirian in the mouth. "Thank you, Doggie."

"Please, remember me...as a friend," Doggie offers a blue, scaled, clawed paw.

Kat offers her own, finely clawed hand, tiny in comparison. "I will, thank you, Doggie."

So, friends they become.


	15. Game

_Game_

"Why are we participating in this, again?" Cruger growls.

"You agreed that we each participate in the game of another's choosing," Kat reminds him smartly, though she's not much happier about it than he is.

"Come on, Bridge: marry, boff, kill!" Syd urges impatiently.

"Okay, okay...kill Sky – sorry – boff you, marry Z."

"What is the meaning of 'boff' again?" Cruger asks. Kat leans over to whisper in his ear, at which his frown deepens. "This is highly inappropriate—I can't believe I'm participating."

"Sky: marry, boff, kill?" Z asks, smirking.

"Kill Jack, boff Syd, marry Kat," when everyone looks at him strangely he shrugs. "Financial stability, compatible living styles, she's the least likely to murder me in my sleep for something stupid. Think it through."

Once everyone has acquiesced to Sky' choices – although Cruger doesn't seem to come to peace with it – it's the Commander's turn. He sits in pondering for a moment. His arms are folded, he looks in deep concentration. "May I 'boff' and marry the same person?"

"N––"

"In this case, you may, sir, as an exception," Syd nods respectfully. When Bridge goes to protest she widens her gaze at him, hoping to get the point across that saying otherwise wouldn't be smart.

"Boff Kat, marry Kat, kill the rest of you—good night," Cruger huffs before walking off.

Kat is still sitting in the semi–circle, though. Her cheeks have turned an interesting shade of pink, bringing out the brown of her speckles. She clears her throat, "um, so whose turn is it?"

"Yours," Z deadpans, smirk even wider than before. "Let me guess your choices; boff Cruger, marry him, kill...Syd."

"Hey!" Syd pouts, offended at the suggestion.

"I'm leaning towards it," Kat says with a smile and a single raised brow in Syd's direction.


	16. Gift

_Gift_

Kat knows that gifts are given on Earth holidays. It's one of the traditions she finds a bit silly, but she adheres to it. She doesn't like having a big fuss made over her but it lifts her heart to see the happiness on people's faces when receiving. Birthdays, Christmas, Hanukkah, St. Valentine's, sometimes even Easter—it gives her a little extra something to look forward to.

This year, for Commander Cruger's birthday, she gave him a most charming pair of cuff links for his Commander's uniform: gold studs with the intricate sign of Sirian Clan Alpha in them. It was quite a feat to pull off but for her dear friend, she's entirely willing. In return, he agrees – reluctantly, at that – not to make a big deal over her birthday. She doesn't like it being a statement, especially since being on Earth and having her age calculated in Earth years makes her feel old. She's only 147, but being surrounded by adolescents, she only ever gets to feel young around Doggie (at about 210 Earth years himself).

"Morning, Kat," Boom greets happily.

Kat smiles back, if only because he didn't say 'happy birthday'. While she suspects that Boom has hacked into her personnel file to learn her birthday Cruger must have told him not to mention it. While Boom doesn't explicitly make birthday gestures, she always finds he's a bit brighter on this particular day (in February, and that's all you need to know). She takes her usual place at her console and finds a small box sitting there. Frowning, "Boom, what's this?"

"What's what?" When he sees Kat holding a small box he shrugs.

Kat frowns. She convinced Doggie not to buy her presents long ago, and, even though he usually still does, he doesn't leave them in her lab. Still, he's the only other person she allows to know the date. On further inspection, she can smell the familiar – delicious, though no one else knows that's her adjective for it – scent of Sirian Commander. There is no note.

When she opens it, a stunning white gold ring sits, waiting for her. She can see her wide green gaze in the band's length. An inscription on the inside reads 'Katherine&Anubis' in Felin and Sirian, respectively. A note sits in the top of the box:

_Dear Katherine,_

_This is a Sirian Luxar Band. It is a tradition to give this to the most precious woman in your life, whether she be family, friend, mate...I give this to you as the woman I cherish more than any other in the universe. You must know you mean more to me than anything, and if you don't, let this ring be a symbol to remind you. Always remember how dear you are to me._

_Love,_

_Anubis_

Kat feels tears sting the corners of her eyes. Her smile is radial, coming to her face naturally as she reads the message over and over again. The erratic beating of her heart is filled with love. "Anubis... "

Boom is concerned when he sees his mentor uncharacteristically emotional, but the smile on her face keeps him silent. He assumes Cruger is responsible for the eruption of feeling within Kat, still the only one to evoke such emotion from her.

Kat slips the ring out of the box and finds it on a delicate white gold chain. She flips the note over:

_PS: The chain is so that it's still practical to work with. Yes, I know you that well._

Kat laughs to herself and slips the ring on. The minute wight of it, just below the hollow of her throat, makes her feel loved. The cool of the band only makes her feel warm inside. She leaves without a word to Boom, figuring he can look after himself for ten minutes. She heads straight to Cruger's office, disregarding everything around her. Luckily enough, no one is around when she barges in and kisses him with all she's worth. When she pulls her lips away from the lips of his muzzle she looks long and hard into his eyes. "I love you, too."


	17. Green-Eyed Monster

_Green–Eyed Monster_

"Hi, Doggie," Kat smiles. "Felix and I have been looking at some biomedical structures."

"Dr. Felix," Cruger nods to the more feline looking man to Kat's right. "How are things coming?"

"Good, though I have to do some adjusting to this strand. We're half a step away from an antidote to the bird flu that took on Asia in the early 21st century," Kat smiles as she continues her work. Felix works silently, next to her. "How are you doing, Felix?"

"Good, um, Kat," the man responds a bit nervously. He shifts further from her as Cruger comes to her side. They talk seamlessly, and the comfort they show with each other is pleasantly natural. Felix, however, just keeps quiet and frowns. He looks at Kat lengthwise, seeing her sparkling beauty through his periphery. Her smile is bewitching and he can't help but smile a little too. However, it disappears in a second.

"Excellent work, as always, Kat," Cruger smiles and nods at her.

"Thank you, Doggie, I'm just about finished here—lunch on the balcony?" she asks with raised eyebrows, still focusing on the microscope.

"Of course, I'll get your usual," he throws over his shoulder.

Kat's smile remains for several minutes after Cruger leaves. Finally, she looks at Felix, "I'm done here, Felix, I'm going to meet the Commander for lunch. Would you like anything?"

"No, thank you, Kat," he smiles at her. She smiles kindly at him, though he sees the fondness in her eyes shining with a more maternal comradery than anything. When she turns and walks out, hips swaying, he sighs.

What he wouldn't give to have her smile at him the way she does at the Commander. Kat is the object of many men's affections, just as the Commander is the object their jealousy for the same reason. She looks at him and lights up in radiance. Felix could never hope to have her look at him like that. He can't even tell anyone because she's really his only friend, and if Cruger gets a whiff of it Felix cringes to imagine becoming the Sirian's private chew toy.

On the way to balcony, Kat and Cruger pass by the window of Felix's medical center again. He laughs at something she has said and she gives him a smile bright enough to blind the sightless. Cruger's paw rests at the small of her back.

Felix sighs again. Jealousy gnaws at him horribly. What he wouldn't give to have her green eyes dazzle at him the way they do at the commander. Now, though, he's just another green–eyed monster, watching the most beautiful woman on base hang off the arm of Commander Doggie Cruger.


	18. Helm

_Helm_

Cruger is nothing short of amazed at Kat's control at the helm of the zord. He guesses he shouldn't really be so surprised, she designed them herself, after all. When he remembers criticizing her work that one time before, he still cringes at it. Now, even if he really did doubt her in the least (which he doesn't), he is being solidly proven wrong to do so. Kat works the controls with the ease of a master. Her expression borders on the line of being bored as she pulls off maneuvers with it he wasn't sure were possible.

"So, the modifications to their gyroscopes should allow mobility to increase while not detracting from solidity of structure. Plus, hopefully this will put a damper on Jack's habit of burning their wheels right off the axel."

Cruger smiles down at Kat with poorly hidden admiration. "This is extraordinary, Doctor Manx. I've never seen anyone handle a zord with this level of precision. Are you sure you don't want to pilot your own?"

"I'm sure—my place is in the lab," Kat muses, smiling. She has thought about it herself, but she's happier back at the command center, by the Commander's side.

"Well, just remember that your ability with the zords has far surpassed any else I've seen in all my years. You could be a real asset to us if we ever need the help," Cruger comments as Kat takes them home to hanger bay 4.

"I'll keep that in mind, for emergencies," Kat nods.

"Like you've kept that morpher? I wish you would listen to me and make the thing permanent, like ours. I know it would only take you a matter of minutes," Cruger continues as he climbs out of the cockpit. He lands and holds out a paw in a moment of chivalry; "maybe only seconds."

"Thank you, sir," Kat thanks, placing her hand delicately in his paw as she jumps down. "I could modify it, but I'm not a ranger, Doggie, it was a one time thing."

"Once a ranger, Kat," Doggie smiles cryptically.

"Always," Kat finishes with a humorous sigh. "Back to the zords?"

"I'd trust you at the helm of the command center blindfolded," Cruger chuckles deeply.

"Well, I don't see why I would ever be blindfolded, but thank you, sir," she also chuckles.


	19. Knight

_Knight_

"Let's go home, Kat."

Kat stares into the dark, reflective visor covering Cruger's eyes. She can see through it, though; she can see those deep, caring eyes she loves so much. Her body is held tightly in his arms, being carried like a princess. She feels like it—she feels like a maiden being rescued by her knight in shining armor. In a way, she is. This is her fairytale and he is rescuer: "yeah... "

Doggie looks at Kat, staring up at him with all the adoration in the world. He smiles, though she can't really see it. Feeling the (slight) weight of her in his arms comforts him. It feels right. While she's here, with him, he can protect her. He can know first hand that she's safe. No one will hurt her—no one would dare.

As the rangers also crowd around her, saying how glad they are she's all right, she just nods to them. She's tired, he can feel it as her muscles contract around her probably sore ribs. When he looks to Jack he only receives a nod. Taking it as acknowledgment he speeds off. Kat doesn't react to his sudden take off, leaning her head onto his chest, covered with the micromesh she designed just for him. She can hear his thudding heartbeat, with her sensitive ears. It's comforting to her.

Somewhere between that quarry and her quarters they get lost in their thoughts. When they realize what's happening again he is setting her on her bed, tenderly. He demorphs and looks at her gently. "I'm so sorry, Kat."

"For what?" she doesn't mean it to sound weak but she's so tired...

"I let this happen...me and my stubbornness," he manages to let out a small laugh at his own expense, brushing her bangs back with his paw. "You wouldn't have been hurt at all if it weren't for me."

"Doggie," she reaches to touch the cool scales of his cheek, "you are my hero—my knight in shining armor."

He smiles and kisses the back of her hand in a chivalrous moment.

She looks at him with all the love in her being; "will you be here?"

"Always," he assures her as her eyes slip gently shut. Her beauty if breathtaking in this moment of peace. He stays by her side, for peace of mind—both of theirs. He will always be her knight in shining armor.


	20. Mirror

_Mirror_

"I never took you to be a vain one."

Doggie Cruger turns at the melodious voice. A smile comes automatically, before he can even realize he's smiling. "Very funny, Kat."

"Seriously, what's going on? I don't think I've ever seen you look in a mirror," Kat steps into her friend's quarters with ease.

Doggie sighs; he's debating on whether or not he should tell Kat, not that lying would fool her any. The truth of it is that he has been feeling...different, lately, and he wanted to see if it shows. At first, it was because he had heard the cadets whispering about him seeming happier. He couldn't see any difference in the mirror. Then, they were saying that he lit up when Kat was around; if she's around, he's not looking in a mirror! Finally, they said that "an old dog like him wouldn't have a shot with Doctor Manx". Normally, he really couldn't care less what the cadets say, but this was a little harsh. Not only that, but it hurt how true he thought it could be.

"Doggie," Kat prods, coming up behind him in the mirror. She looks into his reflections' eyes. "Tell me, so I can help?"

"Do you think I'm an...old dog, Kat?" Doggie's voice is tired, now—sad, depressed.

Kat frowns deeply, "of all the times I've called you a stubborn, old dog it has never bothered you until now."

"No, it's not that," Cruger shakes his head. "I...I don't know, just forget it."

"Doggie, tell me," Kat prods. Without thinking about it, she touches his arm and leans her head against his shoulder. It startles her but it's too late to back out; "please?"

"There were some cadets, today, saying that an old dog, like me..." Doggie trails off but it seems to suffice. Kat's reflection wears a dark expression. "Now, Kat—"

"Who were they? What did they look like?—who the hell do they think they are to speak of you like that..." Kat's rant continues, drawing her from Doggie's side to pace around angrily.

"Kat," Doggie calls. When she comes back to him he draws her to her previous position. "They were saying that an old dog like me didn't have a chance at you. That's what they said."

Kat turns her head to hide look of shock, and the light pink appearing under her speckles. "Believe me, Doggie, you have every shot in the world...all you have to do is take it."

He does so, turning his muzzle to line up their lips perfectly. The kiss is sweet and pleasantly brief. When he draws back they both smile. "So, you really like an old dog like me?"

Kat touches his muzzle with more love than he thought she could possess. As her emerald eyes bore into him, though, he knows it's true. "Doggie, in all my years, you might be the most attractive male I have ever met."

"Really; even more than that European SPD liaison whose eyes never managed to leave your bust for more than a few seconds?" Cruger growls.

"So, you noticed," Kat raises her eyebrows.

"I'd have to be blind not to," Cruger pats her hand at his elbow with his paw. "Anyway, thank you, Katherine. I guess I was just...worried over nothing."

"Anything that worries you, worries me; it's not nothing," she kisses his cheek.

"I see it."

"What?" Kat looks at him in the mirror.

"They also say that I light up when you're near me; I see it now," he smiles at her lovingly.

"I've been lit up for you for years," she winks and nuzzles his neck, purring sweetly.


	21. Patience

_Patience_

Kat sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose; "again!"

Once again, the cadets rush at her. B–Squad goes at her from all sides, but still, Kat deflects them all without moving from her place. As they land she waits for the them to rise, yawning for a moment. She rubs her eyes and commands: "again!"

"Kat, give it up," Syd moans from the mats. "We're all tired, and this was a stupid idea, anyway," she pushes, looking at Jack.

"Well, excuse me for wanting to win against Cruger for once," Jack puffs, holding his ribs.

"So, your idea was to fight Kat? What did you think would come out of that?" Z asks, also out of breath and on her back.

"Yes, what did you think would happen, Jack? Did you think you would win easier against me or that I could help you fight the Commander?" Kat frowns, wilting in her stance.

"I figured that since you and the Commander are both senior officers maybe fighting you would get us some extra practice is all," Jack laments from his slightly upside down position.

Kat remains standing, trying to be patient with her dear rangers. She loves them like family but tonight has been...trying. For a woman of 147 who has put up with SPD cadets and Commander Cruger for decades, she only has so much patience to spare. "I haven't really ever fought the Commander, but if you can't win against me, you have no hope against him...moreover...if you can't win against him, what made you think you could win against me?"

"Go-go power sexism!" Z sings mockingly.

Jack looks at her questioningly. Though he doesn't want to be sexist, he just kind of, y'know, assumed that Kat would be easier to beat. "I dunno, I just... "

"Never mind, Jack; are we done for the night, or do you want to keep trying this?"

Jack gets up in reply and goes at Kat. He is obvious in his attack while Kat remains still. She waits until the last possible second before sidestepping him. Grabbing his fist, she barely has to move her wrist to flip him over. "Gah!—okay, okay, Kat, I'm done!"

Kat sighs again and looks at her kids with pity. "All right, all of you, listen closely. Doggie is a Sirian, which means his senses are about 25 times stronger than yours. He can smell you on the wind, he can hear you standing perfectly still and even if he were struck blind and deaf, his instincts could still have you on your asses in minutes. Approach, and he will know to defend himself; let him come to you. Don't be so obvious in your movements, don't leave openings in your attacks, and don't ever leaves holes in your defense. He is big, but he's fast; the key is to aim for his lower ribs, that's his biggest opening. He's better with right sided attacks so aim left."

"You couldn't have told us this from the beginning?!" Jack asks, harried.

Kat shrugs, "I thought you could handle him without my help."

"Well, clearly you were wrong," Jack mutters moodily.

"Don't be so hard on yourselves; he's a stubborn old dog with a century of experience over you. Stop thinking of him as the Commander in battle and analyze him like an enemy," with that, Kat walks off, slipping on her boots once off the mats.

"Thanks for the help, Kat," Z calls after the woman.

"Good luck," Kat offers back in reply.

"Kat's some patient, putting up with us," Bridge notes.

No one hears it, but, as Kat walks away, she mutters, "waited for over thirty years for Cruger to ask me out, damn right I'm _patient_."


	22. Power

_Power_

"Power's out!" Bridge calls too little too late, removing his goggles. He looks to Boom, whose face is equally covered in soot. "We're in big trouble, aren't we?"

"Boys!" Kat's barely controlled voice resonates through the lab. "What have you done?!"

"Sorry, Kat," Boom scratches the back of his head. "I was trying to upgrade Bridge's toaster."

Kat flips the emergency generator switch but it shorts out. Turning her eyes from the sparks to the boys she raises one fine brow so slowly they begin to sweat. "What did you do to the generators?"

"We kinda took...power from them...to upgrade the toaster," Bridge admits.

"What have I told you about fooling around in my lab? You are not certified to work half of this equipment, let alone without supervision," Kat scowls at them, her fangs sticking out a bit.

"We're sorry, Kat," the two shuffle over to her, dropping to their knees. "We'll never do it again, swear, just—"

"Kat?!"

"Don't tell Cruger," Boom finishes in a weepy voice.

"Get up," Kat rolls her eyes and turns to Doggie. "Hi, Doggie, what's the problem?"

"The power's out all over the base, that's what," he growls, though not unkindly. "This has never happened on your watch before, Kat, what's going on here?"

Kat doesn't even glance at the boys cowering behind her, "I'm sorry, Doggie, I was working on the zords and it overheated the quantum phaser again. The generators will be back up shortly, I just have to do some rerouting."

"All right, just make sure it doesn't happen again," Doggie is stern, of course, but Kat always inspires a special brand of mercy unseen by anyone else.

"Sure thing, Doggie," Kat's ears lower, showing that, while he hasn't chastised her in any way, she still hates to disappoint him. Once he's out of the lab she turns back to her boys with a stern expression. "You two owe me. BIG."

"ThankyouthankyouthankyouKat!" the two rush up to her and envelop her in a conjoined bear hug, crushing her lithe frame between theirs.

"Okay, just let me go," she wheezes out. Once they do she straightens herself again. "Commander Cruger won't hear of this but you two will never touch anything in here without my permission again! Great power, great responsibility—ring a bell?"

"Yes, Kat, thank you, thank you so much!" Bridge bows and salutes before rushing out.

"Cadet Carson?"

Bridge freezes and turns to see Commander Cruger, "yes, sir?"

Cruger approaches and lowers his muzzle to Bridge's face. "Kat is quite a martyr to you cadets, and a merciful one at that. Do not take her for granted, or, the next time you blow out the power trying to upgrade your toaster, I will not show the same mercy she does, understood?"

"Yes, sir, of course," Bridge salutes and nods in thanks and respect. "Wait, how did you know it was us?"

"Are you kidding, Cadet? Kat has never been careless enough to let Boom walk around without properly tied shoelaces, let alone blow the power and backup generators." Cruger chuckles as he walks away. "With great power comes great responsibility, Cadet Carson."

"Understood, sir," Bridge smiles as he thinks how true this is.


	23. Pride

_Pride_

"BOOOOOOMMM!"

The cry is heard through the entirety of SPD command center, striking fear into the hearts of many. Boom himself, in the lab, drops right to the floor, rocking himself in the fetal position, mindlessly repeating an apology (this is typical procedure from instinct on when he messes up).

"Kat, what's wrong?!" Cruger rushes in, thoroughly distressed at the cry of his technician.

"I'm sorry, Doggie, it's nothing, just Boom, setting the sprinklers off," Kat yowls to herself angrily. Her curls hang loosely (beautifully) around her face until she shakes them. Her entire form is arched and on offense. Doggie drapes a towel over her, for which she is incredibly thankful. "Thank you, Doggie, ugh, I'm freezing."

"Boom!" Cruger barks angrily once knowing that Kat is taken care of. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"I'm sorry, Commander, I was working on some cybernetics and I fused the wrong wires to the wrong the spots on the circuit board and, yeah," Boom finishes lamely, twiddling his thumbs. "I'm really, really sorry."

"Don't tell me, tell Kat, who will have to clean up your mess, and her lab again," Cruger is never as stern as he is when it involves the unhappiness of Kat.

"I know, I'm sorry, I'll take care of it, I promise," Boom looks weakly at his mentor with an apologetic shrug and pleading smile. "I'm sorry, Kat, I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't, Boom, and I know you'll clean everything up, so you're fine, this time," she emphasizes firmly. She towels herself off and starts on her hair. "No harm done."

"No harm done?" Cruger turns to her as Boom starts frantically cleaning in the background.

"Just my pride," Kat frowns and pouts a bit. Running a hand through her dampened curls she groans. "This isn't as natural as I try to make it look, y'know."

"You look beautiful, Kat, now change out of those wet clothes before you catch something," he urges, nudging her out the door gently. "I don't want you to get sick from this."

"Thanks, Doggie," Kat smiles at him brightly, touched by his concern.

In a moment of tenderness he touches her flawlessly porcelain skin, running his paw over her speckles and down the radiant arch of her cheek bone. She looks stunning, still a little damp, droplets in her loose curls. With the weight of the water they skim her pale shoulders slightly. He brushes some away and toys with the end with his claws. "You're already cold."

Kat stays there, not willing to leave the gentle touch of his paw. The tenderness in his eyes is enough to melt her in an instant.

"Ahem!—maybe you should get changed, Kat, before you catch a cold or something," Boom suggests with raised brows. He long ago accepted that she and Cruger had some special relationship, but his brotherly love for his mentor makes him a little defensive around Cruger.

"Right," she smiles shyly and dashes out.

"Wounded pride...doesn't mean he has to nurse her back to health," Boom rolls his eyes at the mushyness of his superior officers.

"What was that, Boom?!"

"Nothing, just cleaning!"


	24. Quest

_Quest_

Kat digs through the coolers ruthlessly. She is on a quest. A quest for tuna. This quest is three and a half hours in the making and it's becoming dangerous. Doctor Manx is out for tuna salad...or blood. "Where is it?!"

"Commander Cruger told us not to tell you," Syd admits in a small voice. She has never seen Kat riled up like this. "He said you should take a break on the tuna salad and try something else."

"My eating habits are not his business and he has no right to hide all the tuna on base from me!" Kat growls through her meshes fangs. "Where did he put it?!"

"I'm sorry Dr. Manx, we have been given clear orders not to tell you." Sky responds in a rigid form.

Kat turns to him and approaches him the way a lioness approaches a wounded antelope. Her shoulders and hips move in a cycle, emphasizing her lean form. "Cadet Tate you tell me where Cruger put the damn tuna or I will make you wish he had hidden you away too."

"I can't disobey an order, Ma'am," Sky remains strong, only because he is just barely tall enough to avoid her line of sight. Kat is pretty tall, at almost five foot eleven, and if he were just an inch or two shorter, he knows he would be cowering.

"Jack!" Kat turns to the red ranger, frankly the more likely to break under her gaze. "Where is it?"

"I was told not to look at you or I'd turn to stone," Jack says with a hilarious seriousness.

"Sorry, Kat, but DC was pretty solid on this no tuna thing. How much of it do you really eat?" Z frowns, arms folded.

"I have had a tuna sandwich everyday for the past one 112 years."

B–Squad tries not to let their jaws drop. They often forget just how old Kat really is, in their terms. Bridge raises a hand in question, "So, what else?"

"No, that's about it. I have coffee in the morning, a tuna sandwich for lunch, and then I usually don't have to eat in the evening," Kat shrugs, finding this entirely normal.

"You only eat one sandwich a day?!" Syd blusters. "That is why you're so friggin' skinny?! That is so not fair! Humans need to eat three meals a day!"

"I gotta say, Kat, I'm with Cruger on this. You need to eat more, and not just tuna." Z smirks and shakes her head. When Kat groans loudly, raking her claws through her curls, Z tilts her head, "come on, Kat, DC's just worried about you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kat grumbles, stomping her way out.

"Wow, that woman loves her tuna," Bridge whistles to himself.

"Which is shy she'll be furious to find out I hid it in the last place she'd think to look," Cruger declares from the doorway.

"Where is that, sir?" asks Jack.

"In the minifridge in her own quarters. She hasn't looked in there in years—I think she has forgotten she has it, honestly," Cruger shakes his great, blue head. "She really does need to eat more, though, and I want her to branch out in foods. She used to love to cook—I'm hoping eliminating her go–to easy meal will help get her back into it."

"That's a really sweet thing to do, DC," Z smirks at the old dog, who smiles sheepishly.

"CRUGER!"

"I think she found her tuna," Bridge comments obviously.


	25. Reaction

_Reaction_

"So, you," Isinia gestures to Doggie, looking straight at her with guilt all through his eyes, "and you?"

Kat swallows with difficulty and nods once. She was against this entirely but Doggie insisted. Kat wanted Doggie to revel in the reunion with his wife—she wasn't entirely happy about it, but she did want it. Their "relationship", as Doggie worded it, was...it's in the past, now. It hurts; it sears at her soul, destroying her ability to feel happiness. It hurts, but this is her best friend, and his wife, and she wants him to be happier more than herself.

"Isinia," Doggie tries to start but nothing comes out after it. He is also gnawed at by guilt, but he feels the guilt because he is torn. This is his wife in front of him, the woman he swore to love until death did they part, but he only feels concern for the woman to her left. He knew he had to tell Isinia, it was only fair to her and Kat, but this is harder than he thought it would be. He didn't think his heart would literally be torn apart as his wife would point at...Kat?—his girlfriend—his lover—the love of his life—what does he call her now? Katherine?

"No, Doggie, it's fine. You thought I was gone, it's understandable." Isinia tries to touch her husband's paw but he recoils. He apologizes (reflexes or something, he mumbles). She turns to Kat, who is trying her best not to cry. "What about you, Dr. Manx?"

Kat blinks several times before beginning. "C–Commander Cruger...is a great man, and...he never stopped looking, and waiting for you. He...he really does..." Kat clears her throat and takes a less than stable breath. She can't say it. It tears at her insides to think how he loves Isinia. She tries to make herself detached from the words but it's not working this time.

Everyone is silent for several minutes. There is no easy way out of this conversation. This is a serious matter, but more than that, neither Kat nor Doggie is willing to just let it go. Isinia seems more than willing to put this behind her but the other two are reluctant.

"I...think we should...divorce."

Doggie and Kat's heads shoot up, both looking upset. "Isinia?"

"That's the Earth term for it, right?" Isinia looks at Kat who nods in shock before shaking her head and frowning. "Don't either of you try to argue with me."

"Isinia, please," Doggie starts but her paw stops him.

"Isinia," Kat gets in front of Isinia with strong eyes. They're dark, and swirling with pain, but they're strong. "I am begging you, don't do this. I...I will do anything, but please, don't do this to Doggie. He has been in such misery without you. Hate me, blame me, but don't leave."

"Both of you, hush," Isinia says with a deep mellowness to her voice. The two obey. "Doggie, I love you, just as I know you love me, but we're different people now. We're too different to carry on as if nothing has happened. I have missed the last forty some years of your life, and I can never tell you about the last forty some years of mine. There is no way around this, and you know it. Don't be stubborn, don't argue with me on this."

Doggie looks deep into his wife's eyes. He does know it, but he feels he should be fighting for this more. Isinia's eyes, though, tell him not to. They tell him that this is what's right. "All right...you're right, I suppose. I wish I could convince you otherwise."

"Katherine, is it? Look at me, child," Isinia watches the young woman lift her teary eyes slowly. The pain in them is suffocating. "A woman doesn't cry for a man like this unless their love is pure. I saw this kind of pain when I thought I had lost Doggie, which is how I know that this 'relationship' of yours was not just what Doggie says it is. I don't want you to blame yourself, and I don't want you two to turn on each other. You need each other, that, I can see. Doggie and I were wed until death did we part, but for all intents and purposes, it did part us. I can't be married to a memory, and neither can he. Which is why I have something to ask of you. I ask you take care of him for me. I ask you heal his heart and make sure he doesn't torture himself over this. Can you do this for me, Katherine?"

Kat only nods, lip trembling. Her tears won't stop flowing no matter how much she wills them to. "Please...stay...for him."

"I can't, my dear," Isinia says kindly, comforting Kat. She looks up at Doggie, "and he knows that."

Doggie lowers his eyes, feeling horribly conflicted. He is a good man, and he thinks he should be fighting to keep his wife. Yet, all he can feel is the need to take Kat into his arms to protect her. "Yes, I know. I'm sorry, Isinia."

"In a way, I suppose I am too, but this is how things are, and they can't be helped." Isinia lifts Kat's gaze to her again. "You are a good woman, Katherine, just as Doggie is a good man. I am giving you my blessing. Do not make me regret it; that means doing as I asked."

Kat only nods, tears still flowing copiously but she keeps herself silent. She wants to speak up. She wishes she could cry, and scream. She wants to tell Isinia to stay, or tell Doggie to do something, or anything to ease the situation. There's nothing she can do, though. All she can do is sit there and cry. She vaguely registers Isinia telling her to sit outside for a moment. She does so.

"Doggie," Isinia turns back to her husband, "I know you wish things were different. However, I also know that you love that young lady with all your heart. You can struggle with yourself and try to be the 'good man' all you want, I'm right."

"You always were," he manages to smile grimly. He knows she's right, on every point, including on his feelings. It doesn't feel like he's talking to his wife; it feels like he's talking to an old friend he hasn't seen in decades. "So, what will you do?"

"There are barren remains of Sirius. They're scattered chunks of rock, about the size of an Earthen continent, but they're there. I will go searching for others. There aren't many survivors of the Troobian campaign but there are some. I heard they plan to make colonies on their remaining planetary sects. I will join them." Isinia reaches out a paw to touch Doggie's muzzle. He doesn't flinch but she can see how unfamiliar it is, to the both of them, now. "This could be a good thing. We both have scars from these years that will never heal. Maybe this can be considered one as well. It won't disappear, but care can make it better."

"I wish I could change your mind," he says honestly, because he can't think of anything else honest to say. He can't profess his love for her or say he never cared for Kat because these would be lies.

"I know, but the sooner you accept this, the sooner we can all move on." Isinia smiles at him briefly. "Katherine is a nice girl. I like her, she's smart, pretty, obviously has a good heart...little young for you, isn't she, you old dog? You got lucky."

Doggie smiles at his wi—his friend's teasing. "I am the lucky one."

"That you are, Anubis; you be good to her." Isinia gives her friend a last lick on his muzzle and leaves. He whispers a goodbye. She finds Katherine in the hall, curled into a ball, crying to herself. Isinia reaches down and touches Kat's arm; "goodbye, Katherine. Take care of you both."

"I'm sorry," Kat whispers. She senses Isinia shaking her head; "and...thank you."

"Just take care of him for me, and try to find happiness for you both. Do that, for me."

Isinia Cruger leaves.


	26. Routine

_Routine_

They have a routine, you know. Every day, with few variables mixed in, they establish a steady rhythm. They're able to work together with a perfectly honed synchronicity, developed over their years and years of friendship/comradery. This routine is usually pretty simple, and on some days, downright predictable.

First thing in the morning, Kat will go to the lab with coffee. No one has ever seen where she comes from—most people just assume she lives in the lab 24/7. She will have coffee on all days except fridays. On her way to the lab she will pass Commander Cruger in the hallway. No one knows where he comes from either (most people don't even think he's physically capable of sleep). They will usually nod and say good morning. Around lunch, Kat will go to the cafeteria and get lunch: a tuna sandwich for herself and a bowl of stew for the Commander. He will thank her, she will say "you're welcome" and she will go back to the lab again. At the end of the day...no one really knows what happens because everyone is in bed by the time they'd even consider stopping work for the day.

Sometimes, though, routines are interrupted. One day, while passing each other in the hallway, Kat stops. Cruger stops as well and asks, "what's wrong, Kat?"

"Are we in a rut?" she asks.

"Hm, I suppose it's possible," Cruger muses, thinking how predictable their routine has become. "What do you suppose we do?"

"Not sure," Kat shrugs.

Cruger waits a moment, but in the end, they both continue on their way. Kat carries on with her work, sparing Doggie an apologetic shrug over her shoulder. He, however, frowns, lingering on the subject. They have fallen into a routine.

When Kat goes to bring Cruger his lunch he's not there. She's a bit worried: he never misses the lunch she brings him. Looking around, he's certainly missing. She leaves the bowl anyway and continues on. Arriving back in the lab, she unwraps her usual tuna salad sandwich. Something is different, though.

On her console sits a vibrantly blooming lily, which she prefers to roses. It has a red ribbon around it, with a note. When she picks it up between her fine claws she recognizes the handwriting instantly. She reads to herself: "Dear Kat, sorry we've fallen into a rut, hope this can shake things up a bit, Love...Doggie."

A bright smile comes to Kat's face, making her glow.

This is not part of the routine.


	27. Sacrifice

_Sacrifice_

"Check," Kat declares proudly. She has never done this well in chess against Doggie before. That being said, she has never lost a game of Scrabble, checkers, Chinese checkers, Go, or Dutch Blitz. She has never been beaten at connect the dots, word searches, or cross–words either, though they're not games.

Doggie silently moves a knight in the way.

Kat frowns at the move, and Doggie's silence. He has been all too quiet since the whole quarry incident. She had invited him to play chess – AKA to whoop her ass – in hopes of lightening his mood. As she takes his knight with her rook she puts him in check again she frowns at him cautiously, "check, again."

Doggie moves his queen from her rook's path: "checkmate."

"Doggie, what's going on? You let me win, you put yourself into checkmate," Kat gestures with a nod of her head, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing, let us play again," Doggie is already setting up the board. Kat decides to just humor him to an extent, and goes with it. "I'll be black this time."

As the game continues Kat does worse than before, but still, as soon as she approaches his queen he protects it at the expense of all his best pieces. She's not an expert in chess – if she bothered to learn the rules, she might stand a chance, but she likes that it adds a dimension to their relationship – but she knows he's doing this wrong. When she traps his queen and he surrenders again she looks at him sharply. "Doggie, what's going on with you, and what's so important about the queen?"

Doggie stays solemn, but reaches forward. He takes his queen between his claws so delicately he can barely feel it. She sits in his paw perfectly. "The queen...is the key to the kingdom. Without her, the king will fall, eventually. The king...needs his queen. Without her, he's...helpless. A true king, worthy of his crown, should never let his queen come into harm's way. I mean...what kind of a king...allows his queen to be...taken?—sacrificed?"

Kat sees the light bounce of the dark glass piece and stares at Doggie with glassy eyes. This is what this is about—it's about him trying to protect her through this pseudo–philosophical chess game. In keeping his queen safe, he's repenting and compensating for her kidnaping, symbolically. She reaches out carefully, and takes the queen. He lets her. She places the queen in the half center of the board, moving the king beside it. She pushes them together so they touch, firmly side by side. Then, she forms the classical chess defense (which she looked up on the Google) around the two. "A king...must guard his whole kingdom. The reason...the queen...is given such power...is so that she may help protect the kingdom and the king...while he takes care of his rule. The queen...is there for the king, always."

Their eyes meet and they can't pick out when exactly they stopped talking about chess. His eyes are nothing short of heartbroken, full of remorse and apologies. She won't hear of it, sending him a gaze filled with only admiration and reverence. They both look at each other with a love so deep they can't find it in them to vocalize it. Even Kat doesn't have the words for it.

"Sometimes sacrifices must be made, to ensure the king's well–being," says Kat.

As she reaches to topple the queen he stops her gently. "Not the queen...never the queen."

"The king can't always protect the queen—she has a mind of her own," Kat teases.

Cruger smiles at least a little. "The king can try...so long as he is alive, he can try."

Kat leans forward to kiss his cheek in pure affection: "my king is the best there is."


	28. Scars

_Scars_

"Whoa, check it out," Syd points at the broad, muscled back of Commander Cruger.

"Seriously, Syd?" Z frowns at her friend.

"No, I mean, do you see those claw marks?" Syd trails her fingers over the barely visible but there marks in his scales. "His scales are supposed to be super tough, right? What could possibly make scratch marks that deep?"

"What...or who," Z muses in a sing song voice as she carries on with her stretches.

Syd looks at her fellow ranger, scandalized. "No!"

"How much you wanna bet?" Z smirks at the blond.

"No, you're probably right," Syd acquiesces and goes back to stretching herself. "I just can't believe it."

"Can't believe what?" Sky and Jack ask, coming over.

"Nothing," the girls clam up.

"Anyone else see those marks on the Commander's back? Those scars look pretty bad," Bridge points out, oblivious to any and all other meanings. "I thought his scales were like, super strong, though? What could leave marks like that?"

Z and Syd trade glances, trying to decide if they should say anything or not. Sky and Jack don't seem to want to consider the obvious possibility while Bridge seems determined to figure it out by himself. Finally, Z groans, "what if it wasn't a what, Bridge, but a who?"

Bridge looks at his brunette comrade with confusion. "Well, who in the world could take Cruger and leave claw marks like that on his back?"

A moment...another moment...

"OH MY—"

B–Squad rushes Bridge into the bushes before Cruger can turn around. Z and Syd clamp his mouth shut with his own gloved hand. When they release it he lets out a breath. "Commander Cruger and Kat?"

"Big fat duh, Bridge," Syd whispers.

"I had no idea," he shrugs.

"I think that's the point, which is why this stays between us," Z gestures; they agree.

"Cadets, if you're done whispering, I'd like to get started," Cruger calls to them.

"Sorry, sir, just trying to curb Bridge," Sky lets that statement speak for itself.

"You know how that can be, sir," Jack smirks snidely.

"Indeed, now can we start?" Cruger raises a brow dryly.

An hour and a half later, the cadets are on the ground and Cruger is only slightly tired. They hobble off the field as Kat comes on, with a towel and water bottle for Cruger. He smiles at her, "hello there, Dr. Manx."

"Hello there, Commander Cruger," Kat smiles at him before letting her eyes roam blatantly over his body. "Oh, Doggie, you...you look _great_."

"Thank you, I think the rangers very much enjoyed the claw marks in my back scales," he raises a single brow at her, earning him a blush of tomato degree. "I wear them proudly."

"Good—tells the flousy cadets that you're taken," Kat murmurs to herself in a small moment of privatized (heated) jealousy. "You're all mine, Cruger."

"Gladly," he nuzzles her hair in their moment. "These scars are marks of your love."

B–Squad watches from the bushes, part way between thinking it's sweet and vomiting.


	29. Secrets

_Secrets_

"Hey, Kat," Boom greets as he enters the lab. When it seems empty he frowns; "Kat?"

"Hey, Boom, sorry I'm late!" Kat rushes as she dashes through the door. She straightens a few curls around her ears and smooths her still impeccable appearance.

"Late?—I thought you lived in here," Boom mutters to himself. "Where were you?"

"Just, um, got a late start," Kat offers a dazzling smile in his direction, positively glowing.

"Sure, cool," Boom nods at his mentor. It's strange to see her frazzled like this, plus, as beautiful as she is normally, she's luminescent at the moment. "Something good happen? You look like you just won the lottery."

Kat lets out a small, uncharacteristic giggle before composing herself. She cannot force the beaming smile from her face. "Just got a good start to the day, I guess."

Boom is thoroughly confused and just a little worried some jerk put catnip in her lab coat again. He doesn't get a chance to ask, though, as Commander Cruger comes in. Boom nods, "Commander Cruger."

"Boom, good morning," Cruger replies in a shockingly bright voice. He also seems on top of the world. "How are things going here?"

"Good," Boom replies sheepishly, scared that the Commander's happiness is due to loss of sanity.

"Excellent, excellent, and," Cruger saunters – yes, _saunters_ – over to Kat with a smile even Boom can see on his scaly face. "Miss Manx, I see things are going perfectly on your end, as always."

"Hello, Commander," Kat greets, though her smile is larger and her tone is more playful than normal. "I am making progress, thank you."

"I have no doubt regarding any of your skills," Cruger drops his voice a little as he leans closer to her pointed ear; "Doctor Manx."

Kat's cheeks turn a delectable red and she turns her sparkling eyes to him shyly. "Well, Commander, I'm happy to give you another trial demonstration of my newest techniques."

"Very well, Kat, I'll be waiting in my office," Cruger smirks and walks out, large chest puffed more than normal. "Good day, Boom."

"G–good day, sir," Boom nods, flustered at how many entendres he has just heard from his superior officers. When he looks up again Kat is biting her lip, looking at the door anxiously. "Seriously, Kat?"

"What?" she asks, having forgotten completely of Boom's presence.

"You two," Boom points his pencil between her and the door and watches her blush vibrantly. "You weren't exactly subtle about it. Besides, I have never seen you this happy, let alone Cruger. I'm just saying, I'll keep your secret but," Boom pauses and looks deeply into Kat's vaguely anxious but curious face; "he better be good to you."

Kat smiles sweetly, heart melted at the words of her bumbling assistant. As he turns his back to her, embarrassed, she goes and hugs him. "Thank you, Boom, and not just for keeping the secret."

"No problem, Kat," he smiles. He looks at the woman who took him under her wing and has been like a sister to him since. "I just want to be sure...that he's as good as you deserve."

"Believe me, Boom, he's the best any woman could hope for," she smiles and leaves.

Boom smiles at first, but then considers the double meaning of her words and cringes.


	30. Smile

_Smile_

If there's one thing that's rare in terms of the Commander, it's a smile. Even Kat has only seen a few cross his face in the decades she has known him. When you do see one, though, it's nice, and it's notably only Kat to receive them. No one knows, really, if he can laugh.

"Morning, Cadets," Cruger greets in a friendly voice without a smile.

"Morning, Commander Cruger," they greet in salute, with smiles.

"No news to report as of yet, rangers," he says, still without a smile.

"Sir, would you like to hear a joke?" Bridge asks, hoping to get a smile.

"No," is Cruger's response.

"It's pretty funny," Jack tries to coax out. He is also unsuccessful.

"How have you been, sir?" Z asks with a gentle smile. She is usually the one to receive the most mercy, if any, from 'DC'.

"Well, thank you, Cadet," Cruger offers with warm eyes but still no smile.

"Commander Cruger, your scales are very shiny today, sir," Syd offers in vain.

Cruger's frown actually deepens as he looks at his cadets with confusion. "Have you all done something about which I should know? You seem...nervous...and complimentary."

"We're just trying to get a smile out of you, sir," Syd offers up in a chirpy tone, innocent to Cruger's scrutiny. "We just never really see you smiling, is all."

"Grrr," Cruger growls at them through his meshed fangs.

"See?—you should smile more, sir," Syd pipes.

"Never mind her, sir, she's just being...Syd," Sky rolls his eyes a bit.

"Whether I smile or not, it is not a concern of yours, cadets, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they salute, heads hung a bit.

"Morning rangers," Kat greets brightly. When she notices their lackluster she turns to Cruger, still smiling. "What did you say to them?"

Like the sun breaking through storm clouds he gives the brightest smile he can through his great, blue muzzle. "They seem to think I don't smile enough."

"Well, you could stand to smile more, but I'm not sure it's such a reason for concern, per se," Kat's smile grows to bedazzling levels, white fangs peeking out over her glossed, pink, perfect lips.

"That's what I thought, but apparently, they're worried about how little I smile. I think it's ridiculous," Cruger shakes his head. As Kat takes her station at her console he glances back at her, still smiling. "Dismissed, cadets!"

As their kids scuttle off Cruger shakes his head. "Those rangers... "

Kat looks at him a little more serious. "You really should smile more often, Doggie."

Cruger sighs as his smile also softens. "I'll try...you're the only reason I do, you know."

Kat turns back to her work, smiling even wider than before, "I know."


	31. Song

_Song_

"What's going on, here?" Cruger frowns at the crowd of Cadets flocked around Kat's lab.

"All of you, get outta here!" Boom comes over angrily, shooing them away as if they're seagulls looking for parking lot scraps, "go!"

"Boom, what is going on?" Cruger asks, still baffled.

"It's a long story, Commander," Boom is surprisingly serious when he says this, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Basically, there's this song, and...well..." Boom holds out a hand to let Cruger into the lab.

The Sirian immediately hears the beautiful, breathy voice of Kat Manx, singing a light tune. As he gets closer he makes out some words.

"When I think about you I touch myself."

Cruger backs out of the office making a rumbling, whining sound, as if someone has hit him on the nose. Someone might as well have, as he feels a nosebleed coming on any second. He makes a conscious effort not to think of Kat this way, using his Sirian strength to calm himself. Once he is centered again he looks at Boom, understanding what has the young man so distressed. "How long?"

"Like, five minutes, and they've been here for four and a half of them!" Boom shoots a glare to the male cadets, still hanging around with shameful amounts of drool evident on their lips. He scowls; his mentor deserves more respect than to be drooled over by these creeps with their disgusting thoughts. "Get out of here!"

"Go!" Cruger enforces, finally inspiring action and sending the cadets on their way. Still flustered himself, he shakes his head, "I...I–I uh, um... "

"Yeah," Boom agrees. While he loves Kat like a sister, it makes it that much harder for him to hear her singing that song of all songs. "I don't know why it's that song in particu—"

"It's that song because your Earth Gods are cruel beings!" Cruger cuts Boom off, rubbing his tough, blue scales.

"Touch–a–touch–a–touch–a touch me; I wanna be di–iirr–rrrty!"

"And Kat's trying to kill me!" Cruger snarls out, stomping off for what Boom assumes will be a cold shower.

"...I'll oil you up and wash you down."

Boom smacks his head off the wall and curses the day he showed Kat youTunes.


	32. Spellbound

_Spellbound_

"Doggie!"

"Hm?" he snaps to a little bit. "I'm sorry, Kat, what was that?"

"You've been staring at me for the past ten minutes—what's wrong?" she frowns, immediately alarmed as to why he would be looking at her so intensely. As far as she knows, she doesn't have anything wrong with her appearance. She can't have anything in her teeth, she has had nothing today but coffee.

"Oh, my apologies," Doggie smooths over and ignores her question simultaneously. He goes back to staring at the monitors for about a moment before his gaze drifts to Kat again. She is even more beautiful today, if it's possible. Her black pants hug her hips with a certain come–hither allure to them. The blouse she wears is unbuttoned at the very top, revealing milky flesh with a few more speckles encroaching on her collarbone, around the hollow of her throat. If he leans a little bit he can see a teeny peek of cleavage. Scolding himself, he is able to look back up her tasty neck, also with speckles along its back, and up to her face. He's not an expert on makeup but he knows every detail of Kat's naturally stunning face. There's something different about her today. He thinks she might be doing something different with what little makeup she wears. Her lips seem a little redder than normal. It's a good look for her. It's accentuated nicely by the rich blue of her shirt.

"Doggie!"

"Hm?" he blinks, out of it once again.

"What is going on? Are you not telling me something?" she frowns, brows furrowed.

"No, nothing is wrong, Kat, I promise. You just," he pauses, looking at her to make sure he is correct; he is, "you look so beautiful I can't stop looking at you."

Kat's eyebrows shoot so high they almost touch the light speckles around her hairline. She wasn't expecting that; a blush creeps up her neck and into her cheeks, unbidden. Her mouth manages to sputter a few words, "t–thank you, Doggie."

"You look beautiful everyday, but I can usually be less obvious about it," Cruger sighs a bit at himself. "I think it's the lipstick—a good shade for you, very...distract—erm...attractive."

Kat bites her lip without thinking about it; she had been hoping the shade might be able to catch some attention. Apparently it was a good choice. Plus...did he say he thought she was always beautiful? Aw, hell yeah...

"I...you're just...bewitching, Katherine," Doggie breathes into her ear as he stands. The ear twitches and he finds it adorable that the tip of it is soon as pink as her cheeks. "You always leave me spellbound."


	33. Take My Hand

_Take My Hand_

Kat sits by Cruger faithfully. She has been here for six hours already. He was on his ATV as Shadow Ranger when it was shot and crashed. The security of the micromesh fabric and plating – especially his helmet – were what saved his life, said Felix. He would have been dead if it weren't for her safety measures. It offers Kat little comfort now, as she watches her friend on a respirator.

The crash caused an explosion that threw him a good fifty feet. How he landed jarred some plates in his neck, a critical injury for Sirians. After hours of surgery trying to reset the plate structure they were able to stabilize him, but now it's all a waiting game. He hasn't woken up, and Kat and Felix both know his likelihood of doing so declines with each hour passing.

Kat's eyes are dark and raw from crying. She has been left alone with him, for which she is a bit thankful. It has left her to confront her guilt on her own terms. Realistically, there is nothing she could have done, and if it weren't for her, he'd be worse off. Still, it doesn't help her any, and all she can do is wish he had been in a delta runner.

"You realize there isn't an option in this: you have to wake up. There is no other option, Doggie, there is no if. You will wake up," Kat repeats to herself. The steady wheezing of the respirator is the cruel answer she receives. "Mm–hm, yeah, but you...you have to wake up. There's nothing else to it."

"When Felix told me," Kat chokes back a sob, "told me that you were in surgery...do you know what I thought of? I thought back to...to that time when I was just getting out of my miscarriage operation, and you were waiting there for me. Your muzzle was the first thing I saw and it made me so happy to see a friend's face. Felix asked me to take a break. Get something to eat, take a nap, whatever. I won't, though, because I want my face to be the first you see. I want you to see a familiar face, my friend."

"The rangers are really worried about you. They keep calling in to see how you are. They'd be here, but Jack and Sky are out for blood for the one who did this. Boom even came in to visit. He's gone to the cafeteria now, to get me something to eat. I know if you were awake you'd make me eat it...well, there's your incentive: I won't eat until you wake up. So...come back, you stubborn, old dog."

"You can't leave me alone, you great, blue, mutt. You tell me to be less selfless, fine, I'll be selfish, I want you back! You can't leave me! I need you here! Everyone needs you here, Doggie." Kat leans in close and leaves a kiss on the lips of his muzzle. "I need you to come back."

Hot tears fall onto his face, trailing down the rivets between his scales. Kat chokes them back and continues. "I love you, Doggie. I love you, so much, and if you don't come back, I won't either. If you were awake you'd be furious at hearing this, I know. I just...I'm lost without you. You're the only family I have left. Just...just come back...for me. You've always gone hand over paw for me, and I always thought it was silly, but if there were ever a time for you to do something for me it would be now—wake up!"

Her hand clenches his cool paw desperately as she screams in agony. When she calms she listens to his controlled heartbeat. She feels something. She squeezes his paw again to test. "Doggie...Doggie, you're waking up? Squeeze once for yes. Take my hand if you can hear me."

It's small, but the paw moves to grip her smaller hand tighter.

Kat lets out a teary laugh and hugs him. "Thank you...thank you, Anubis."

Cruger's form heaves with a natural breath and he groans, "Kat... "


	34. Test

_Test_

"Which Kat is Kat?" Jack asks, more than a little weirded out.

Before B–Squad and Cruger stand about sixteen different Kats, all with her same expression. They are carbon copies, each independent of another.

"Technically, they're all Kat," Z speaks up. "She wanted to look into my duplicating abilities and she managed to make copies of herself."

"You make, like, three, though, there's..." Syd doesn't even try to count, "a million Kats!"

"Actually, there are sixteen. If there were a million—" Sky begins but is cut off.

"Don't correct me!" Syd groans; it has become a running joke at this point.

"I did manage to duplicate myself, however, this was done with technology. Since Z's ability is ingrained into her DNA, her copies are identical. Mine have small physical differences between them," one Kat says, stepping forward.

"Are you the original, then?" Bridge asks, also a bit nervous at seeing so many Kats at once. He resists the childish urge to poke her to test solidity.

"No, she's..." Kat–1 turns and frowns into the crowd of herself. "In there, somewhere."

"Well, we need the original," says Sky.

"There's a bit of a problem with that," Kat–2 answers. "The technology has copied us exactly in a psychological standpoint."

"Meaning," Jack rolls his hands for further explanation.

"Meaning, we're not sure which is the original," they all answer at once.

"Well, we can't tell you apart!" Bridge blurts, close to having a fit.

"He can," Boom speaks up, leading in Commander Cruger. "I figured he was the most likely to be able to tell them apart."

"This is quite a mess," Cruger growls, trying to absorb the room full of Kats. They all look at him with recognition, but he can easily tell them from each other. There's just something...off about them. "Line up in rows of four, please."

The Kats do as they're told, and this way, it is easier to see that there are indeed small, almost imperceptible differences. Some Kat's are a little bit taller or shorter, some have different colored eyes, some have different shaped ears. "Doggie, this is a little weird."

"Don't worry, Kat, I'll find you," behind him, Syd and Z make small "aw" faces while the guys are still watching the many Kats nervously.

Cruger combs through the rows of his best friend meticulously. He uses all of his senses, looking closely, listening to her heartbeat, smelling them individually. He makes sure to make eye contact with each, but while each looks at him with recognition, he knows when it's not his Katherine. Setting aside those eliminated – those too short, too tall, blue eyed or lacking cheek spots – he comes to the last row. He goes through them like normal but the third one in line is different. She is five foot ten, three quarter inches tall. Her hair is a dark chestnut color, curled around her long, pointed ears to make a jungly mess of silk ringlets. The spots on her cheeks are a brownish color, extending into the hollows of her cheeks, under the beautifully high bones. The irises are a dazzling emerald color, the lips, a perfect pink shade. Her body shape seems right. He makes eye contact. When this Kat looks at him he feels shivers run through him and electricity shoot in him. She smiles at him and he smiles at her. "This is her."

"How can you tell?" B–Squad and the other Kats equally curious.

Cruger smiles as relief floods through him with the warmth in his heart. "I just can."


	35. Time

_Time_

If there's one thing Kat has, it's time. She's 182 Earth years old, and still young for her species. Realistically, she has a couple hundred more Earth years, at least. Sometimes it makes her feel old, especially knowing Doggie blabbed her real age to B–Squad, but it's a small price to pay. She might only get to feel young around Doggie – 245 Earth years, thank you very much – but she wouldn't trade any aspect of her life for anything. Still, it's a little sad to think that her rangers will age and pass away long before she does.

"You ever think time moves too fast?" Kat asks mundanely.

"I'm not really sure," Doggie answers honestly. "Sometimes I think so, then I remember exactly how long I'll be around."

"Yeah, me too," Kat quirks her mouth unhappily. "Do you worry about them?"

"Of course, but they'll be all right. We beat Grumm, didn't we?—and our cadets are living long, happy lives. Why, it was Bridge's 51st birthday just last week and he seemed spry as the day we met him," Cruger moves behind Kat and begins massaging her shoulders, the way a husband does for a worried wife after a long day. "You, my dear, have not aged a day, literally."

True, Kat looks the exact same as she did 35 Earth years ago, and she's still technically young for her kind. Doggie hasn't really aged either, though his scales are starting to turn an every so slightly lighter blue. "You haven't really, either."

"Oh, soon enough my scales will be blue like the sky and you can call me a stubborn, old dog all you like," he nuzzles her dark curls affectionately, "you should be at least starting to go grey by then."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Kat uncrosses and recrosses her legs. Her hair won't change color, but the spots on her cheeks will turn from their current chocolatey brown to a more greying shade, the way a cat's muzzle fur will go grey at the edges.

"Not to worry, Love, that's far from now. Besides, you could shrivel up like a prune and you would still be the most beautiful woman in the galaxy," Cruger looks at her seriously.

"Oh, Doggie," Kat leans over to give her husband of 32 Earth years a kiss. They got married after the fall of Omni, deciding that time is to be taken advantage of, not measured. "At what point do we get 'too old' to be doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Training cadets, protecting Earth from a threat that hasn't surfaced in decades," Kat waves her hand about vaguely. "When do we get to retire?"

"Not for another couple hundred years, I don't think," Cruger furrows his brows, thinking about it seriously. Deciding to lighten his wife's mood he leans in, "at what age are we 'too old' to be raising pups and kits, then?"

Kat smiles and swats at her husband's muzzle playfully. "Very funny; we're lucky that our genes mixing means I can only have one at a time. What would we do if we had a litter?"

"Boom has made an excellent uncle to them, along with the Jack, Bridge and Sky. Syd and Z have made wonderful aunts, and even Birdy has a soft spot for them—unbelievable as it is."

"True, they are adorable," Kat gives Doggie another kiss, this one sweet, and lingering. "We have all the time in the world to make sure they're all right. Kate and Calliope are only 18 Earth years – barely children, developmentally – and Alexander is only seven Earth years."

"All the time in the world, Katherine," Doggie nuzzles his wife again, holding his paw against his fourth pup (or kit, as Kat keeps insisting), growing inside his wife at this very moment.


	36. Why?

_Why?_

She could ask herself why: why was her planet destroyed?—why did her family perish?

He could ask himself why: why was his planet destroyed?—why did his wife perish?

There are no answers to these questions, nor the question of why they survived, why they're the ones training adolescents to protect the world, why they carry the burden of being the last of their kinds. There are some questions which they can answer, though.

Why does she love him? Well, there are many reasons.

She loves him for his kind heart, his tenacity and benevolence. She loves how sweet and loving he is, yet always properly in command. She loves his ability to take control as a natural leader, yet he never oversteps his rank. She loves how protective he is, of his own, of his friends, of his team. She loves his smooth, blue scales. She loves how deep his eyes become when he looks at her. She loves how pointy his ears are. She loves how strong he is, how safe he makes her feel. She loves everything about him.

Why does he love her? Well, there are many reasons.

He loves how kind she is, tenacious and benevolent. He loves how comforting her naturally commanding presence is. He loves the grace she possesses unwittingly, and the majesty with which she conducts herself. He loves her genius, and the way she uses it for the greater good. He loves how adorably stubborn she can be, especially when protecting her loved ones. He loves those dangerously green eyes of hers that shine at him. He loves her pearly fangs, and her perfectly pink lips. He loves the speckles running down her cheeks. He loves her ears and the way they stick out of her mop of dark curls. He loves how strong she is, and she doesn't even know that she's why he can still find strength in himself. He loves everything about her.

So, the final question: why can't they freakin' just ask each other out?


	37. Worst Case Scenario

_Worst–Case Scenario_

"We are gathered here today to honor the life of SPD Commander Anubis Cruger," Birdy begins rigidly. Even he doesn't feel right about this. "He was a noble warrior, revered officer, and a loyal guardian of the galaxy."

The rangers of B–Squad sit in his hauntingly empty family section, alongside Kat. They're not listening to Birdy. They doubt anyone is. They just sit. Sky stares straight ahead, gripping Syd's hand as she tries to hold in her sobbing. Jack sits with his fists clenched dangerously tightly, consciously fighting his tears back. Bridge looks at a loss, pitifully speechless as Z leans on him to hide her own tears. When Birdy steps down they glance to their right.

Kat sits, face dark, almost angry, and set in stone. She is paler than usual, even her speckles becoming a paler, sallow brown. Her eyes haven't been green for days; they're more black than anything, now. Sometimes, when she remembers him, there will be a flicker of green. Then, it disappears, and the irises become steely again. Her head is bowed as she toys with a ring hanging on a chain around her neck. When she sees Birdy step down she uncrosses her legs with a careful sigh and walks to the podium. "Thanks, Birdy," she's a little hoarse.

Kat looks into the pews of attenders. There are mostly nameless, faceless officers. High Command is there, their cadets, the staff, some of his old academy chums she has seen in photos. No one who has called or visited in the past thirty years, though. It makes her sick. "Thank you, all, for coming."

"Anubis...was...a great man. Everyone knew him for his honor, and valor; his willingness to go into the line of fire to protect the innocent was unmatched. Even when his home of Sirius fell...he still vowed to protect other planets from this travesty. This unfathomable devotion to the good of others is what made him so revered. He was respected for his courage in the field, and his kindness to his comrades. Whether as a commander or as a friend...you could depend on him. If there was one thing I learned in the fifty some years I knew Anubis Doggie Cruger it was that you could...depend on him," Kat spits out the word 'depend' like it tastes bad to her tongue. Hot tears sting her eyes and some even escape to drip down her cheeks. Her voice wavers in moments but it is still strong. No one but B–Squad can see that her claws grip the podium tightly, for dear life. "Anubis was the best I have ever known; he was the best man, comrade, commander and...and friend...I had the honor of knowing. I wish...I wish..."

B–Squad looks at her with heartbreak. They've seen how she has struggled in the past week. It was only yesterday she agreed to go through with the funeral in the first place. She went through devastation and blind fury and then she just...hit bottom. She's still there.

"You know what I wish? I wish he hadn't died. I wish I could tell him—"

Kat shoots up in bed, shaking in a cold sweat. Tears run down her face and her heart is sickeningly prominent against her chest. When she looks around she sees his coat on her chair and the Shadow morpher on her desk. "Thank goodness... "

"What's wrong?" The body next to hers sits up and brings her back down.

"Awful nightmare," she murmurs, feeling his heart just to assure herself. "Worst–case scenario kind of thing, don't worry about it."

"What happened, sweetheart?" Cruger looks at his love in his arms tenderly.

"Your funeral," is all Kat says as she absorbs his beautiful muzzle. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he kisses her comfortingly, stroking her hair and nuzzling her.

Kat falls asleep again, listening to Doggie's heartbeat to remind her that he's alive.


	38. Yield

_Yield_

Kat and Cruger look at the sign strangely. They both tilt their heads left, then right, ears perked. They have come into town for some street reconnaissance; this is a surprise, though. Before them stands a sign, yellow and shaped like a diamond. It resembles the yield sign used for human driving, but it has a silhouette shape of a dog instead.

"Kat, what is this?" Cruger asks; Kat usually knows more on Earth subjects than him (on most things, really).

"It seems to be a sign telling people there are dogs in the area, sir," she responds, just as baffled as he is. Looking up and down the road, partway between the command center and downtown New Tech, she blinks. "I believe it might tell drivers to yield for them."

"Hm, interesting," Cruger looks around and sees a dog, possibly a stray wandering on. He lets out a growling sound and barks at the dog, "Hey!"

The dog looks up in response to Cruger, seeming to understand him perfectly.

"What is this?" Cruger nods his head to the sign and makes a canine questioning sound.

"Yield for dogs," the mutt responds. He looks between Cruger and Kat; "your mate?"

Cruger looks at Kat subtly and then back to the pup. "If she is?"

The dog just gives the best shrug it can and wags its tail, going over to her innocently. He rubs his side against her, earning him a gorgeous smile and a rub behind the ears. "Ooohh..."

"Excuse me, what part of mine did you not understand?" Cruger growls and the mutt gives a whining sound before backing off a bit. "Yeah, now get out of here!"

The dog trots off, not wanting a conflict with this larger species.

Cruger lowers his pointing paw and looks at Kat, who seems entirely befuddled. "He says it's a yield sign for dogs."

Kat just nods, not much more enlightened than before. She didn't even know Cruger's Sirian tongue would allow him to talk to Earth dogs, but it has been a day of discoveries. "And what was all the pointing and growling about?"

"Nothing, just...don't scratch any strange dogs' bellies," Cruger grumbles unhappily.

"What did he say that had you so angry?" Kat asks as Cruger begins back towards the command center.

"Nothing," Cruger tries to end the matter.

"Doggie," Kat prods.

"He asked...if you were my mate...and then proceeded to shamelessly throw himself at you," Cruger's grumbling becomes steady growling under his words.

"Oh, I see," Kat nods, more than a little flattered at the jealousy demonstrated over a stray dog earning her affections. "I'll be sure to not flirt with any more stray dogs, sir."

"That's funny, Dr. Manx, very funny."


	39. Youth

_Youth_

Kat sits on the bleachers facing the lightball field of SPD Academy branch Unox221Z. Her home of Felis is the furthest bus stop, but she was determined to come for her science degree. Unox221Z is a fairly variable branch in terms of student body, Felins, Uroras, Sirians...oh, yes...

Kat's eyes follow a particular athlete: Cadet Doggie Cruger, currently the captain of Fourth Year's close combat team. He is a broad–shouldered, blue–scaled, handsome Sirian. Not only is he possibly the most attractive being Kat has seen in her 16 Felin years but he is also smart, kind and gentle. He is perfect. It is this very perfection that lures young Katherine to the bleachers every lunch hour just to get a glimpse of him.

"You totally love him," Kat's friend (don't try to pronounce it, just call her AMI) AMI comments, sneaking up on her younger friend. AMI finds Kat just darling, and feels she should look out for her, since she skipped two grades to get to the Academy.

"I do not!" Kat protests, though her unbearably hot cheeks aren't helping her point. "And will you be quiet, someone will hear you!"

"Aw, come on, Kitty, he's really cute, you should just ask him out!" AMI nudges her friend with one of her many feelers. She uses another one to steal some tuna out of Kat's sandwich. "Your mom's still trying out Earth recipes, huh?"

"Yeah, I kind of like this one, though," Kat muses.

"You've talked to him, right?" asks AMI. Her left mouth asks the question while her right consumes the chunk of tuna salad. "This is gross."

"Yeah, when he helped me pick up my books in the hall," Kat replies sheepishly. Despite the constant bullying she suffers because of her grades and her age, that was a great day. That was the day she looked into the eyes of Doggie Cruger and saw absolute kindness in them. He was sweet, well–spoken, and overall dreamy.

"I think he likes you," AMI teases her young friend.

"AMI hush!" Kat jumps as she catches Doggie turning towards them. "He's Sirian, hello—his hearing is better than mine!"

"Hello, don't have ears!" AMI gestures to her gelatinous head. "Ooh!—here he comes!"

Kat freezes as Doggie Cruger's large frame does indeed approach. Her back straightens, her shoulders come up and her tongue inadvertently darts out to sweep any tuna from her lips. She's shy as his handsome muzzle comes into view. "Hi, Doggie."

"Hi, Katherine," he smiles at her as friendly as can be (which is strange even in his adolescence). He's the only one to call her Katherine instead of Kat, which he likes; he's the only one to utter the beauty of the name befitting of its possessor. "Hi, AMI, how are you?"

"I'm just going off to throw out Kat's gross sandwich, actually," AMI says happily. She swipes Kat's sandwich with her feelers and slithers off.

"What was that?" Doggie asks after Kat nods for him to sit.

"Tuna salad, I think. My mom has been trying out Earth recipes for research," Kat rolls her eyes a little.

"Interesting," Doggie chuckles. Katherine and her entire family are geniuses, even by Felis standards, which makes them the brightest of the bright. Katherine, being two years ahead of her grade level, or more, is already at the top of her classes. It's unsettling, though, how much grief she gets for her genius. One classmate of hers, Mooney, makes a point of terrorizing her daily. Fortunately, he's a bit of a loser, and poses little to no threat. "Has Mooney bothered you at all today?"

"Not too bad; since I started having lunch out there he has less luck in trying to trip me in the cafeteria...not that he really succeeded back then, anyway," Kat shrugs.

"What does bring you out here?" When Katherine clams up he's afraid he has said something wrong. "I'm glad to see you, I'm just wondering."

Kat keeps her gaze on her knees, blushing intensely under the eyes of, in her opinion, the coolest guy at the Academy. "Well, it's always nice to get fresh air...and I like seeing you too."

Doggie smiles at the beautiful young lady by his side. "I'm glad...it gives me someone to try and impress during practice."

Kat blushes even more at the flattering remark.

"Cruger, get down here!" calls the coach.

"Yes, sir!" Doggie responds, standing. He leans down and kisses the back of Kat's slender hand. "I'll see you after practice as usual, won't I?"

"Uh–uh," Kat manages dumbly as she feels as if her face has been set aflame.

"Good; until then, Miss Katherine," Doggie waves over his shoulder.

Katherine nearly faints.


	40. Home

_Home_

"I'm home!"

Doggie looks up from his desk and looks to the brunette taking off her scarf. "Hello, Kat, welcome back."

"Oh, yeah..." Kat realizes she said that she was home, rather than back. She looks to Doggie and seems dazed. Has this become home to her? Is it his office, or the base, or..."yeah."

"Did you get what you needed?" He asks her, turning back to his paperwork.

"Yeah," she says, still in shock. The bag at her side has their guilty pleasures in it: a vanilla milkshake for her and some steak bones for him. She didn't have to ask, but she knew it was going to be a long night. A half hour ago she left, into the fall night, to the store.

"Kat...?" Doggie looks up at his friend again, a little worried. She still seems to be on the cusp of a realization. "What' wrong?"

"Nothing," she shakes her head a little. She brings him the bag with his bones and pulls out her to–go milkshake. She takes a sip, still in thought. She said that she was home. She is home. "Doggie, do you ever think of this place as home?"

"Sometimes, why?" he asks casually, popping the eye of a steak into his jaws. He crunches it like it's a pop rock.

Kat looks at Doggie and feels the warm love of familiarity envelop her. It's not just the love of friends, or family, or even a romantic love; it's the love she feels when recognizes that this is the man without whom she simply cannot exist. "No reason, I guess."

Doggie senses something in his friend and goes on, against his secretive nature. "To be honest, I generally think of home as...wherever you are."

Kat feels her eyes water at the sincerity of the statement. He looks up at her with those big, puppy (no pun intended) eyes of his. On a whim she strokes the smooth scales of his muzzle. Neither seem to mind the action. "Yeah, I kind of...started thinking of it that way too."

"It really is like home, for us," he smiles at her, guiding her hand to the lips of his muzzle. He kisses it, and gives it a little lick. She sits a second later, whether by will or from weak knees (we all know it's the latter). "I didn't even realize it when I first started thinking of it like that."

"I guess I have been for a while," Kat shrugs.

Doggie looks at his old friend of decades. They've been working together for so long they might as well be... "Kat, are you happy here?"

"Of course," she answers automatically, before looking at him. "Why; are you?"

"Yes, and," he starts to smile widely, "maybe we should make some arrangements."

"What kind of arrangements?" Kat tilts her head and sips at her milkshake.

"Well, we're both happy here, at home, together," he takes her hand into his paw without looking at it or her. "Maybe...we should look to making this a little more set in stone: permanent."

"What did you have in mind?" Kat manages to whisper, feeling short of breath.

"Since we seem contented enough, why don't we make the arrangement to be here for the foreseeable future?" he smiles at her, meeting her eyes. She seems to get his meaning and gasps. "What do you say?"

"Yes!" she gasps out a laugh and kisses him, full of love and passion. "I love you!"

"I love you too," he says, and it's surprisingly easy. "So, this really is home, now."

"I guess so," Kat smiles at her fri...I'm sorry: her fiancé. "I'm glad I'm home."

"I'm glad you're home, too," he smiles and kisses his fiancé. They're home.


End file.
